Lions and Lambs
by hearts in the sky
Summary: BtVS/Twilight. Buffy Summers is still heartbroken, months after Angel has left. As the rumors that a different kind of vampire exist take her to Forks, Washington, she encounters another equally brokenhearted girl with an immortal ex-boyfriend...
1. Chapter 1

**Lions and Lambs**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Twilight. I own nothing. Except the Macbook which I am using to write this story, because I couldn't get out of my head.

**Author's Note:** IMPORTANT. PLEASE READ. This is a crossover/AU fanfiction. I know that the timeline is a little skewed, but this essentially before BtVS Season 4 and at the beginning of New Moon from the Twilight series. Buffy and Bella are the same age, although Buffy has already graduated and Bella is a senior in high school. Their interaction takes place in the time period a few months after Angel has left Buffy and not too long after Edward has left Bella. This fic will NOT follow S4 or New Moon, hence it being AU. Thanks and enjoy!

# # #

It had been exactly 4 months, 4 days, 19 hours, 27 minutes and 16 seconds since she saw him walk away, into the mist and out of her life.

They had just saved world yet again. It wouldn't have been a Sunnydale High graduation without an apocalypse, of course. They had destroyed the Mayor (and the high school in the process) and everything was right with the world.

Or at least, it was supposed to be.

It wasn't like she hadn't seen it coming. She knew he was leaving.

The fighting for their lives part did little to distract her from this fact.

She just didn't think he would go without say goodbye.

No kiss, no hug. Not even a, "Hey, glad you didn't die!".

All she got was a lingering glance from a distance before he disappeared into the shadows.

A glance that she had been replaying over and over again in her mind, trying to find answers to all the questions she never got to ask him.

She still cried at night. Not that any of her friends knew that.

It had been months and since she still walked and talked and laughed and smiled, they figured she was going to be alright. She was going to be just fine without him.

She was after all, the Slayer.

None of them knew how wrong they were.

Didn't know how she still saw him everywhere she looked. Didn't know how she sometimes stayed out on patrol until sunrise just so that exhaustion would take over before the grief could creep up and consume her. Even then, the nightmares were what woke her, the tears already streaming down her face.

She was still Buffy Summers. She was still the Slayer.

Monsters of any kind she could handle.

But she wasn't sure she would survive the love of her life leaving her.

Because there were days where she really thought she might be okay. And others were the sadness was almost too much to take.

# # #

Giles sat at his desk, frowning at the book set in front of him. His eyes read the same passage over and over again, trying to absorb the information in front of him.

He sighed and glanced at the figure standing quietly in the shadows of his apartment.

"Are you certain about this?" he asked.

"Positive. It's something she should look into."

Giles sighed and stood up. "It is still possible that this is just a myth."

"You should know by now that nothing in this world is ever a myth," the figure responded.

Giles nodded in resigned agreement. The realm of impossibility was a lot smaller these days.

"She's supposed to be starting college soon, you know," Giles commented. "I don't know how she'll feel about going off, looking for evidence of something we didn't know existed until now."

The figure sighed. "It's a solid lead. If it turns out to be nothing, she can come right back and not miss any classes."

Giles watched him. It wasn't that he bared his visitor any ill will despite all that had happened in the years he had known him; their friendship however, was always strained and formal at best.

"She doesn't know you're still in town," Giles said. It wasn't a question.

At that moment, Angel stepped out from shadows of Giles' apartment, a look of pain and sadness etched across his features.

"No, she doesn't," he said softly. "I would prefer that it stayed that way, if that's alright."

Giles nodded stiffly. "You never did mention your plans. Now that we've confirmed our research, where will you go?"

Angel began to pace, averting his eyes away from his love's Watcher. "Los Angeles was the original plan. Now I'm going with her, to help."

Giles could feel the frown form on his face, but tried to keep from sounding sharp or stern. "You haven't spoken to her once since the Ascension. You don't even want her to know that you never left. How much help can you provide from the shadows?"

Another flash of pain crossed Angel's face. "As much as possible. I'll keep her safe and still be on the outside, looking in."

This time Giles couldn't help answering back a bit sharply. "So you can see her but she can't see you? That's not exactly fair, is it?"

"Trust me when I say she's getting the better end of the deal," Angel said, a swell of sadness evident in his voice.

Giles sighed, feeling slightly sorry for the vampire with a soul.

"It's better this way, Giles," Angel continued. The statement almost sounded uncertain, like he was trying to convince himself that it was true.

A moment of silence passed between them.

"Then it's settled," Giles said. "I'll tell her first thing tomorrow."

Angel nodded quickly, heading for the door. "You know how to find me," he said before slipping out into the night.

# # #

When Giles opened his door the next day as Buffy arrived, his quick eyes caught a glimpse of a despondent girl, staring into nothing. But as soon as she was aware of him, she quickly forced a smile and what was once her usual attitude.

"Hey Giles, what's the haps? Gotta be important if I'm up this early," Buffy said as she walked past him and plopped down on his couch.

Giles sighed, wishing quietly that she didn't try so hard to be okay. Underneath the tough and rather smart-mouthed Slayer was a fragile girl who had just gotten her heart broken by her only love. While the likes of Xander and Willow assumed that she was already beginning to bounce back, Giles knew that she was still quite far from okay.

"It actually is rather important," Giles began as he scooped up some books and sat down next to her. "I began to do some research a few months ago after hearing what I initially thought was just a rumor."

He knew better than to mention Angel in front of her. Everyone had been careful to not so much as mention his name in her presence.

Buffy frowned, realizing that the situation might be a bit more serious than she had thought. "Okay, so spill."

Giles sighed and adjusted his glasses nervously. "Yes, well, it appears that solid evidence has come up, proving the existence of a different breed of vampire."

Buffy blinked. Once, twice. Her brain tried to process what her Watcher had just said.

"Wait. _Different_? As in, not the same as the usual bloodsuckers we get around here?"

Giles nodded, a grim look on his face. "Yes. It appears that we have only been dealing with a much more… generic breed of vampire, if you will. While my research has only provided me with the bare minimum of information, it can easily be said that these other vampires are of a rare variety and are unfortunately, extremely difficult to kill."

Buffy paled slightly. "Giles… how much more difficult?"

Giles frowned, sensing Buffy's concern. "The most I know is that their skin is next to impervious. Essentially impenetrable, which only leads me to believe that stakes are out of the question. I am unsure about this, but they might be able to tolerate sunlight. This only leads me to wonder if crosses and holy water have any effect. I'm not even certain if their strength outweighs that of an average vampire…"

"… Or me," Buffy finished, thoroughly shocked by the information Giles was passing on to her. She shook her head slightly, almost disbelieving it all. Could there possibly be a vampire, the one creature she was meant to fight, that she wouldn't be able to beat? She didn't think to voice her fear out loud.

"I don't get it, Giles. Why now? And if there's so little information on these super vamps, how can we really know they exist? How do we know they're more than a myth?"

Giles cleared his throat, carefully going over the beginnings of his research in his mind so that he could leave out the details that involved Angel.

But, at the root of all this, was Angel. He was the one who came to Giles with the initial information, just whispers among the vampire community at the time. These new vampires were apparently, quite keen on keeping their existence a secret. It was through Angel and his unknown but highly reliable sources that the research began, ultimately confirming that there was something out there that needed looking into.

"Buffy, I know that this sort of news is completely out of the blue and quite frankly, a bit overwhelming. But believe me when I say, that these creatures do exist."

Buffy looked at Giles, eyes completely somber. She knew this was the real deal. There was no way around it. "So, what's the next step?"

Giles hesitated before continuing. "We must do all we can to learn more. Now, I have it on good authority that a coven of these vampires is currently living in Washington. While their activity is barely traceable, I am certain they are there."

Buffy nodded. She remembered hearing of heavy vampire activity around the Seattle area. Those of course, had been the normal vampires she fought on a nightly basis.

She blinked and tried to refocus her attention as Giles kept on talking.

"… Which is why I believe that the best course of action is for you to go up to Washington and do some field research, in a sense. Do not engage them, simply do all you can to find out what we need to know. Once we have what we need, we can figure out what to do next."

"So, don't pick fights with the new, scary vampires. Gotcha."

Giles sighed before continuing. "They might have tried to pass themselves off as human if they can be out during the day, so interaction with those in the area might provide us some clues. From what we could find out about this coven, some of vampires might appear to be around your age, which is why I believe the best course of action is to have you infiltrate the high school and pose as a student."

Buffy laughed, although there was no humor in her voice. "Great. Back to high school."

Giles stood and frowned down at her. "Now Buffy, it's essential that we do this, and it's only temporary. You should be back in time to begin your classes at the university."

Buffy shrugged indifferently as she also stood. "Fine then. I'm guessing I should go home and pack. Where exactly am I headed?"

Giles walked over to his desk, searching before picking up a piece of paper with the name of the location.

"It appears you'll be heading to a town outside of Seattle. A place called Forks."

# # #

**That's it for now! Please let me know what you think. Feedback is greatly appreciated.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Lions and Lambs: Chapter 2**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Twilight. I own nothing. Except the Macbook which I am using to write this story, because I couldn't get out of my head.

**Author's Note:** IMPORTANT. PLEASE READ. This is a crossover/AU fanfiction. I know that the timeline is a little skewed, but this essentially before BtVS Season 4 and at the beginning of New Moon from the Twilight series. Buffy and Bella are the same age, although Buffy has already graduated and Bella is a senior in high school. Their interaction takes place in the time period a few months after Angel has left Buffy and not too long after Edward has left Bella. This fic will NOT follow S4 or New Moon, hence it being AU. Thanks and enjoy!

# # #

Giles frowned as he watched Buffy make her exit.  
She seemed to take the news of these vampires fairly well when the initial shock wore off. Almost too well.  
Giles knew that the Slayer used patrolling and fighting as a means of distraction, to ignore the still raw ache in her chest at the thought of Angel.  
It seemed like Giles knew that Angel was far more than an ex-boyfriend. To even call him that did no justice to the relationship they had.

He had seen how years ago, Buffy tried so hard to bear the immeasurable weight on her shoulders, a burden that came with sending her true love to Hell in order to save the world. And that seemed like a much more bearable situation to this. Because before, Angel was sacrificed for everyone; Buffy continuously told herself that he had not died in vain and that almost seemed to help the pain.

This new pain she dealt with now was a very different kind of pain. It was the pain of believing that love did not conquer all. How could it, if he could just walk away from her so easily? Tell her to find normalcy in a world that only held demons and creatures of the night?

No, he knew that her sadness went much deeper than anyone could imagine. It wasn't the superifical wounds of a normal relationship come and gone.  
She had lost a piece of herself in the process, a part of her very soul. And so did he.  
From his interaction with the both of them, Giles knew they were merely fragmented versions of their former selves.

Giles waited a few minutes to make sure that Buffy was long gone before picking up the phone.

Angel picked up on the first ring.

"It's done," Giles said. "She's already gone home to pack and she be on her way there by tomorrow."

"I'll be right behind her," Angel replied. Giles then heard a click as the line went dead.

# # #

Buffy shuffled around her room, quickly picking clothing up and tossing them onto her bed. While Giles had said it wouldn't be a long trip, she had a feeling that there was no real way of knowing how long this would take. So she was determined to fit over a month's wardrobe into two duffle bags.

She found herself almost slightly relieved by the idea of delaying college. While she knew her mom and friends were all unbearably excited by the idea of higher education, she found herself looking forward to the change less and less.  
While this trip would be a poor excuse, it made her feel like she was doing something right. She was the Slayer, this was her job. Seeking out evil was one of the many things she was meant to do.

Buffy sighed heavily as she sat next to the mountain of clothing on her bed. While she felt no sense of alarm or fear about going to Forks, she could not help but wonder briefly if her number would be up on this trip.

It was hard not to think about death. She faced it practically every day and had already come back from the dead in the most literal sense possible at least once. It had been luck that she had made it this long and only a matter of time before the right enemy would come along and finish her off, activating the next Slayer.

Because although she had the title of Slayer hanging over her head, she was still human and therefore, still fragile. She could keep fighting as hard as possible, but death would still come. Instead of losing her life to old age like normal people, she might have her weapon turned against her when she was 21. It was just the way things went.

It wasn't the thoughts of death that brought up the dull ache in her chest that began to grow with each passing second.  
It was the thought of fighting alone and in that, dying alone. Angel would not be there to catch her if she fell.

Buffy gasped, pressing her hands against her chest in a feeble effort to hold her the physical manifestation of her sorrow down. It was a familiar pain at this point, but it always seemed to take her by surprise. She closed her eyes and gritted her teeth as the pain swelled up to her throat. It always felt like forever, but it was in fact only a few minutes, before it subsided and settled back into her heart, the source of the phantom pain. She sat very still for a moment, making sure it had passed. When she was sure that it was gone, she opened her eyes and brushed away the tears quickly with the back of her hand.

She stood up quickly and began to throw her clothes into her two large bags, forcing herself to concentrate on the task at hand. It seemed like not a day went by when her sadness didn't try and take her over. Maybe the pain clung to her so easily after all these months because she was still in the same place, living the same life. Only he was gone and his absence made itself known every day. A change of scenery would be nice, a breath of fresh air for her. She was technically entering into a realm that held new, unknown enemies but that seemed irrelevant at this point.  
At least Forks wouldn't be Sunnydale.

# # #

Angel sat quietly on a wide branch on the tree directly outside of Buffy's window. He was careful not to make any sudden movements. He knew it wouldn't take much to make her aware of his presence.

This was something he practiced on a nightly basis, not that anyone else knew that. He would shadow her in the graveyards as she patrolled, followed her home and studied her in her sleep, leaving with only a few moments to spare before the sun began to rise.  
He had initially been surprised that she didn't immediately sense him when he began this ritual months ago. At first, she would sometimes stop walking, glance around her before a flash of grief crossed her face. He had realized then that she did sense him every single time he was around. But because she believed he was long gone, she must have convinced herself that it was a false feeling of his presence and attributed the familiar tingling in her stomach to her sadness playing tricks on her mind.

Angel sighed heavily as Buffy tossed and turned in her sleep. Her window was closed but he could tell that she was restless. He only hoped that it wasn't another nightmare. It took every once of will power to not jump through her window and hold her when the first nightmare happened. Instead, he clutched onto the branch where he often sat, trying not to break it. He felt everything she felt and more. He had his grief and hers as well to bear. If he could cry, Angel was certain he would sob every day.

He knew he was the cause of all this pain. He believed what he had done was a selfless act, the ultimate way of showing Buffy how much he loved her. By letting her go.  
Even as he told her he didn't want her life to be spent-no, wasted-with him, he hoped that she saw that in his eyes, he was pleading for her to understand. That he loved her with his entire being. That everything he did, he did with her in mind. That he would never forgive himself for making her cry and causing her so much pain. And that it was better this way. That she would find love that allowed her to be in the light. She would move on and be happy. And he would stay the same, forever trapped in the shadows.

But he also knew that by staying and hiding, he was being incredibly selfish. He drank in the sight of her every day and all she had to remember him by was the long glance they shared before he had walked away on that last night.

He initially had every intention of leaving, a basement space already in his name in Los Angeles. But then the rumors began to slowly surface. Vampires and demons in the area talked amongst themselves, sharing stories of what they at first believed was an urban legend of sorts. A different breed of vampire, mysterious and deadly, that made Angel seemingly harmless by the information he and Giles had discovered in the months that had followed. He knew that Buffy would be obligated to see for herself if such creatures existed and that he could never leave her to fight alone. Leaving her he could barely handle; her death was something he was certain he would not survive.

Angel was so lost in his thoughts that he barely caught the scent of sunrise as it slowly began to creep up along the sky. He only had five minutes to spare, pushing his luck. He jumped gracefully from the tree and quickly made his way to the black convertible with tinted windows at the end of the block. There, he would wait until she left so that he could follow behind.

# # #

Early the next day, Buffy quickly packed up the Jeep that her mom had graciously handed over for the trip. It was be a rather dull road trip from southern California to upper Washington but Buffy wasn't keen on the idea of flying and felt she would most likely need a car in the area anyway. She would simply have to make do with her own company and the stack of CDs in her passenger seat.

Giles had already made some arrangements for her. She would have a small, modest apartment to herself on the outskirts of town. Buffy knew that being parentless would make her decidedly suspicious, so she decided that she would tell others that she lived with an aunt that no one would ever see.

She was pulling out of her driveway when the tingle in the pit of her stomach suddenly began. She had once jokingly referred to the feeling as her "Angel radar". Now she thought of it as one of the many phantom pangs her body forced her to endure. She knew Angel wasn't nearby, yet her body insisted that he was. Buffy pushed the feeling away, concentrating on the road and the journey ahead.

She never noticed the black convertible that followed her the entire way there.

# # #

**Next stop: Forks, Washington! Comments and feedback are greatly appreciated.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Lions and Lambs: Chapter 3  
**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Twilight. I own nothing. Except the Macbook which I am using to write this story, because I couldn't get out of my head.

**Author's Note:** For those of you who read New Moon, you'll know that the first time we see Bella after Edward left her, it's a few months after. I'm attempting to write about her within the first month of Edward leaving, around September. I'm also not sure if I will follow much of New Moon, including any appearances by Jacob Black. Reader input will definitely help me decide. Thanks!

_And if you should ever leave me, I will crumble_

_That's just the way I am,_

_I hope you never leave me_

_That is to say…_

_I will crumble._

- "I Will Crumble" by Mike Vogel

# # #

Bella Swan was not alive.

Well technically, in the most literal sense, she was very much alive.

Still living and breathing and moving.

But right now, at the most, she merely existed.

She went through the motions of everyday life like a shadow; barely acknowledged and easily ignored. It was almost like she was in a trance, hypnotized by an overwhelming grief that threatened to surface at a moment's notice if provoked.

Of course her friends, like Mike and Angela, had shown deep concern when Bella had fallen into her depression. She seemed almost incapable of interacting with those around her and didn't speak more than two words a day. Her eyes seem to have a constant gleam to them, as if the tears waited patiently to be spilled.

Other students in school, while the majority of them pitied Bella, gossiped among themselves. Everyone knew what caused the drastic change in her; it happened as soon as he, along with his family, moved away, supposedly to LA.

But anyone who knew Edward Cullen's secret would know better. Bella certainly did. LA was no place for vampires. Not that it could hurt them, but people tend to notice when one's skin sparkles like diamonds in the light.

No, LA was merely a story, most likely told by Carlisle as the Cullens made their exit out of Forks and out of Bella's life. Bella herself had no clue where they could be. The mere thought of Edward and his family paralyzed her with sadness, making her sink further and further into her despair.

No one around her could ever really understand. Not her friends or her parents. It had only been weeks. They all believed it was just a phase, something she took a bit too hard but eventually would recover from.

Recovery was the furthest thing from her mind. Bella barely attempted to survive each day. She only worked to keep Edward out of her mind; the physical reaction to the mere thought of him shook her to the core. She compared the feeling to what she imagined it would feel like if her heart were being set on fire and the only way to stop the flame from consuming her would be to rip it from her chest.

No, how could anyone know what it feels like to lose the love of your life?

Bella Swan was drowning.

She felt as if though she would never be able to resurface.

# # #

Buffy squinted through the fog as she caught sight of the sign welcoming her to Forks, Washington. She sighed with relief that her journey had finally come to an end, just as twilight took over the sky.

She glanced at the slip of paper where she had scribbled the address of her new apartment. It turned out not to be too difficult to find; practically everything seemed to be located directly off the highway.

She parked in front of the modest building that seemed to have no more than 5 units to it. Buffy was glad for it; all though she doubted that her new neighbors would be a problem, the less of them, the better. She made her way to the office connected to the building, picked up her key and unloaded her car.

Buffy walked into the apartment labeled 2B not expecting too much, but was taken by surprise at how much Giles had been able to do in a couple of days. The apartment was modestly furnished, with a couch, bed and TV. She wandered into the kitchen and found plates and pots, as well as food on the shelves. Buffy made a mental note to call and thank her Watcher for doing so much on such a short notice.

She sighed, deciding that unpacking would be the first thing to tackle. Once her clothes were put away neatly into her tiny closet, Buffy made her way to the bathroom to shower and freshen up. She had just arrived, but was far from resting.

Once dressed in pair of jeans and long sleeved black shirt, Buffy settled on her couch and examined the map of Forks that Giles had given her. There wasn't much to it, but Buffy felt it necessary to familiarize herself with the area and note where the local cemetery was.

She only had an hour or so before it was prime time for patrolling. Her night would begin with a quick sweep to see what Forks held in the ways of creatures that lurked about in the cemetery, before beginning her first day at Forks High School the following morning.

# # #

Angel followed Buffy to her apartment complex, making sure to keep a reasonable distance away so as not to rouse her suspicion. Once he felt sure she was making herself comfortable, he quickly drove further down the highway, turning off on a barely visible dirt road to the left.

He had easily found an abandoned but sturdy cabin in the woods surrounding Forks through an old friend and decided that it would be the best place to set up for the time being. He would never be too far from Buffy this way but still had a place to hide in during the day.

Angel quickly shuffled around the cabin, which had already been repaired and cleaned for his arrival. He didn't have much time before Buffy would set out to patrol and wanted to beat her there so as to know how to stay well hidden.

The vampire sat down momentarily on the large bed that had been provided for him, sighing heavily. Not a day went by that he didn't question how he could possibly ever leave the only person he ever loved and loved him in return. But he stood firm, almost stubbornly, by his decision. It tore at him to think that Buffy believed he no longer loved her. She would never know how difficult it had been say what he had said that day, forcing himself to leave her side in the hopes that she would go on and grow old, whereas he could not and never would.

Angel placed his head in hands, quietly grieving and cursing the circumstances. He knew Buffy well and knew that she was concerned about this hunt, thinking there was a good possibility that she would have her final battle here. But he would do everything in his power to stop that from happening. If he somehow managed to fail her, he would avenge her and then quickly follow her. A simple stake to the heart and he would be reunited with his love.

He shook the heavy thoughts out of his head as he stood and pack weapons underneath his trench coat. There was no telling what the darkness would bring.

# # #

Buffy walked swiftly through the graveyard. It was nowhere near as big as any of those in Sunnydale in terms of grave count, but the land it was on was expansive. She decided to reach every corner of the area before concentrating on the center.

So far, she had sensed no demonic activity. The false tingling in her stomach had began the minute she had stepped into the cemetery, but as always, she pushed it away and desperately attempted to ignore it. She needed Angel to be the furthest thing from her mind if she wanted to accomplish anything.

Just as she was about to give up, Buffy's senses alerted her of a vampire making its way towards her. She saw the creature before it saw her. She was more relieved than disappointed to see that it was the usual vampire she knew how to fight. She wasn't sure what she would have done if she had come face to face with her new enemy on her first night in town.

The vampire was once a young man around Buffy's age, dressed in slacks and a sweater. He would have appeared normal if not for the demonic features, golden eyes and prominent sharp teeth. He appeared to be looking around for someone or something, but it was obvious that Buffy wasn't it. When his eyes settled upon her figure, he snarled viciously. Buffy smirked as she knew that sound meant she had caught him off guard.

"Geez, you don't look happy to see me," Buffy quipped as she moved towards him, ready to draw out her stake from her back pocket.

The vampire growled again. He almost hesitated, taking in the sight of Buffy's blond hair and sun-kissed skin. "You're not one of them," he hissed. "You're a human."

Buffy raised an eyebrow at him. "Thanks for that report, Captain Obvious. And what do you mean by, 'one of them'?"

The vampire sneered. "I was sent to see if the rumors about the local coven were true. What I didn't expect to find was a vulnerable human girl, walking alone in a graveyard."

Buffy frowned. "What kind of rumors?"

Her enemy, however, no longer seemed to be in a talkative mood as he roared and lunged for her. Buffy moved quickly though, dodging the attack and swiftly taking out her stake in one movement. A few blows were exchanged before Buffy quickly pinned the vampire down to the ground.

"I doubt this message will get back to your buddies, but your not returning ought to do it," she said. "Coven or no coven, the Slayer's in town."

The vampire stared up at her with a look of surprise and horror as the stake slammed into his chest and he exploded in a burst of dust.

Buffy stood up and absently dusted off her jeans, wondering what the other vampires knew that she yet didn't. Were they afraid of the coven of super vampires? And if they were as fearsome as they sounded, why had they chosen a small town, where large amounts of death would be rather noticeable yet they were practically untraceable?

She pondered these questions quietly as she headed back to her car and drove to her apartment, hoping to get in a few hours of sleep before heading back to high school.

# # #

**Coming up: Buffy and Bella meet for the first time.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Lions and Lambs: Chapter 4  
**

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Twilight. I own nothing. Except the Macbook which I am using to write this story, because I couldn't get out of my head.

# # #

Bella stumbled along through the forest, her eyes scanning the growing shadows around her. She walked faster, desperately searching for anything familiar. A glimpse of something in the distance caught her heart to leap into her throat.

It was a practically an illusion, something she was sure was a trick her mind was playing on her. He stood at least several yards in front of her, with his back to her. His auburn hair, his pale skin and slim frame. If he were to turn, she was sure she would be greeted with a warm, gold glance.

"Edward?"

She whispered his name but she knew that he would still be able to hear her.

When he made no sudden move, she quickly began to stumble towards him.

"Edward!"

Bella tried to run but wasn't surprised when her balance failed her as she tripped over an unseen branch. In the seconds that it took her to recover from the impact of the ground, she looked up and he was gone. The tears immediately began to spill forward.

She wasn't even sure if she wanted to get up. What would be the point?

She could stay on the forest floor and let the night have her. Edward certainly didn't seem to want her. Not anymore.

As a sob shook her frame, Bella caught the sound of a low growl behind her. She quickly got to her feet and whirled around. There was nothing there.

She heard it again, this time to her left. She turned around in a circle, glancing around fearfully but saw nothing. She knew by the sound that her life was in danger. The tears continued to spill as she realized that Edward had left her to die. The fragments of her heart cracked into smaller pieces.

"You know you're not making it out of this alive, don't you?"

Bella froze at the sound of unfamiliar, taunting voice. She turned slowly and came face to face with a pair of golden eyes.

But these were not warm, soft pools of amber. They were not Edward's eyes.

These eyes were angry and fierce, the bloodlust apparent in the bright yellow gaze.

Bella gasped in horror. The face was not pale and beautiful; it was twist and distorted with demonic features, sharp teeth jutting out as the creature smiled at her.

_Vampire_, she immediately thought. But not the kind of vampire she knew of. This creature in front of her was evil, with no trace of humanity left in it.

The vampire grabbed Bella roughly by the shoulders. "It won't be any fun if you don't scream," it taunted.

Bella couldn't stop the sound from leaving her lips. She knew she would die by this creature's hands. She let out a bloodcurdling scream.

# # #

Bella was still screaming when she woke up. Realizing that she was no longer trapped in her nightmare, she gasped for breath, shaking with fear.

Once she regained some self-control, she listened for any sounds of her father stirring. Since he didn't burst in seconds later, it was safe to assume he had already left for the day. He still wasn't used to the screams that had become a nightly occurrence since Edward had left.

Bella slowly made her way out of bed and began to get ready for school. Unlike her father, she had already come to expect the nightmares the minute she closed her eyes every night. But this one was different. She had never seen a vampire like the one in her dream. The memory of the evil creature made her shudder.

As she continued to ponder her dream while eating breakfast, the memory of being left by Edward in the forest made her chest ache to the point where she felt like gasping for air. The pain was sometimes a dull throb if she didn't dwell on it, but it was always there. And like the tide, it easily came forward and swept her under at a moment's notice.

With that, Bella fell into her usual trance. She knew that the people around her were worried, but the trance was the only way she could get through the day. She felt disconnected from her body and thus, from her pain. She could float away while her physical form went about its business. Most people thought she wasn't coping; they didn't know that the trance was her only means of survival.

# # #

Bella entered her first class early and sat the lab table, her eyes already blank and distant. Mike walked in a few minutes later. He hesitated to say hello, knowing that it would most likely go unnoticed. With a sigh, he crossed the room and to his seat, not bothering to greet her.

The class slowly filled and the students took their assigned seats. Initially, when he had left, Bella was painfully aware of the empty seat next to her. She was not capable of ignoring the space next to her but the trance helped distract her slightly.

Bella was still off in her own, pain-free world when a new student walked into the class. Most of the boys immediately took notice of her, taking in her tan and blonde looks. The teacher took her slip, glanced at it, and waved her towards the seat next to Bella. The girl walked swiftly towards her and quietly sat down. Bella did not notice the movement beside her. She also didn't notice the new girl staring at her, wondering how to best approach her obviously distracted lab partner. And she didn't notice the new student greet her in an attempt to get her attention.

What shook Bella out of her reverie was a warm hand placed on her arm. Shocked by the touch, Bella blinked a few times and glanced down at the hand, and then at the person it belonged to. Without her knowledge, an unfamiliar blonde girl suddenly filled the horribly empty space that had once been occupied by her love. She blinked, realizing that the girl was speaking to her.

"Are you alright?" the girl gently repeated.

Bella couldn't seem to form a coherent thought, so she simply nodded. She took a moment to take in the appearance of the new girl. She was tiny, smaller than Bella herself. She had shining blonde hair that was swept into a loose up do and her skin was lightly tanned, naturally tinted by the sun. Bella automatically thought of California after studying her. The girl had patient green eyes that seemed to also be studying Bella.

If anyone were ever to ask Bella to imagine her mirror opposite, she would think that this girl would be it.

She was speaking again. Bella tried to focus and catch her words.

"… So, I'm new here. My name is Buffy. Buffy Summers."

Bella stared at her. The girl named Buffy seemed to be waiting for her to say something. "What's your name?" Buffy generously provided.

Of course. She needed to introduce herself to Buffy.

"I'm Bella. Bella Swan," she said softly, her voice sounding strangely raspy. Most likely due to the screaming from this morning, if not the past few days.

Buffy offered Bella a kind smile. "It's nice to meet you, Bella Swan."

# # #

Buffy didn't know what to make of the desolate girl she sat next to in her science class. She was obviously terribly sad, possibly heartbroken from the looks of it. Buffy could understand that much.

She noticed when she walked into the room that besides her apparent depression, Bella still stood out from everyone else around her. Not in a supernatural manner, but Buffy knew to always trust her instincts. Bella might know something.

Unfortunately, Bella was also anywhere but here. It took Buffy several minutes to get the girl's attention. She had a feeling that befriending her would be difficult. Everyone else in the school seemed to either not acknowledge Bella or treat her as a fragile doll. Buffy took this to mean that something had happened recently that everyone else seemed to know about; she assumed that finding out for herself wouldn't be too hard.

The classes leading to lunch were uneventful for Buffy. She had a keen sense of déjà vu, but that was to be expected. She never thought she'd find herself back in the halls of a high school again, but life was sometimes funny that way.

She also couldn't help but be slightly amused by the amount of attention she was receiving from the boys. Buffy knew that she stood out among the small town crowd; her time in southern California was apparent in her looks and style, something that wouldn't be ignored.

As she followed other students towards the lunchroom, she quickly scanned the crowd for any signs of Bella. She didn't find the quiet girl right away, but did manage to catch up to her friend, who she was pretty sure was named Mike. Assuming she might have to play the dumb blonde card, she made her way towards the boy.

"Hi Mike," Buffy greeted cheerfully as she followed him into the lunch line. Surprised, Mike turned around and upon seeing Buffy, smiled nervously. He tried to casually run a hand through his hair.

"Oh hey. It's Buffy, right?" he said in an attempt to act smooth. Buffy chuckled to herself.

"Right. So, umm, I was wondering if I could ask you a question," she said, following him closely.

"Yeah, sure. What's up?" he said.

"Do you the girl who sits next to me in science? Her name is Bella," she began, feigning any knowledge of his friendship with the girl in question.

Mike frowned slightly, but forced a cheerful tone. "Oh yeah, I know Bella. She's a friend of mine."

"Well, I was just wondering… is she always like that? So… distant?"

This time, Mike's frown stayed on his face as he temporarily forgot he was speaking to the pretty new girl. "No, she wasn't always like that. She was pretty normal up until Cullen left." Mike moved out of the line, tray in hand, hesitating to see if Buffy would follow him.

Buffy made a quiet mental note of the name Cullen and of Mike's harsh tone, deciding to not push the topic any further as she followed him to the table where Bella herself was already sitting.

There seemed to be an invisible wall between Bella and everyone else at the table. Buffy noted the two empty seats around Bella, wondering if one of them belonged to the boy that left her so sad. Mike sat down in his usual seat across the table, watching Buffy warily as she sat down next to Bella.

"Hi Bella," Buffy greeted her softly. Whether or not this girl knew something, Buffy couldn't help but want to be nice to her. Bella seemed like she just needed someone to understand her pain. And if there was anyone around who could understand life-altering heartache, it was Buffy.

"Hi Buffy," Bella greeted weakly, offering her a barely visible smile. The whole table seemed to grow quiet, slightly stunned by Bella's interaction with someone. Mike and another girl who Buffy didn't recognize smiled encouragingly at her.

Buffy smiled back before returning her attention to Bella. She was now quietly pushing her food around her tray, her mind elsewhere again. Buffy sighed, but decided not to force conversation. She knew it would take a while before Bella would open up, much less tell her anything remotely helpful.

# # #

The haze that Bella often retreated into allowed the day to pass rather quickly. Before she knew it, she was already walking towards her truck in the student parking lot.

Within her vision, she saw a head of sun-streaked blonde hair ahead of her, heading towards a dark green Jeep. She wasn't sure what had compelled Buffy to be so nice to her, but she felt as if the new girl could be trusted. In her own odd way, Buffy stood out as much as Edward and his family had when they were in school.

Edward. She didn't mean to think of him, but the thought was in her head before she could stop it. Her heart sank, twisting inside her chest. Bella quickly got into her truck, taking several deep breaths before attempting to drive. She tried to relax and stop the tears from coming, listening to the sounds of her fellow students around her and the beginning drops of rain as they fell on the roof of her truck. Bella finally pulled out of her spot and began the short drive home.

She never noticed the pale stranger in the distance, carefully watching her.

# # #

Buffy hurriedly left her car, not wanting to get caught in the rain. She quickly ducked into her apartment and switched the lights on. With a sigh, she hung her coat on the small rack by her door and moved towards the phone. Giles picked up after the first ring.

"Hey Giles, it's me," she said as she moved into the kitchen, rummaging for a snack. Even though they had spoken late last night after her patrol, Giles was still relieved to hear her voice.

"Ah, Buffy. How was the first day of school?"

Buffy laughed. "How do you think? Remind me to thank you for making me suffer through the new girl blues again."

Giles cleared his throat. "Yes, well, you know it's vital to your mission."

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Any news about the vamps from Seattle?" Buffy asked as she settled upon a bowl of cereal.

"Not yet, but we're monitoring them very carefully."

Buffy sat on her couch and raised an eyebrow. "Who's we'?" she asked.

Giles paused, realizing his mistake. "Oh, well, I mean myself. A-and my sources. Yes, my sources in Seattle," he stammered.

Buffy let it pass, thinking nothing of the slip-up. "Alright, well once you hear something, let me know. I'll head up there and check it out."

"Yes, of course. I know I don't have to say this but—be careful, Buffy."

Buffy couldn't help but smile. She couldn't blame Giles for being a bit worried and appreciated his concern. She was worried too, not that he knew that.

"Don't worry about me, Giles. We'll find the vamps, I'll kick their butts—all in a day's work," she said in an attempt to assure him.

She and Giles chatted for a few more minutes before ending the conversation and finishing her cereal. Buffy stretched and watched as the sun began to set, marking the real beginning of her day. With some time to kill, she decided to do a little bit of her own investigating, the name 'Cullen' still in her mind. She pulled out the laptop she borrowed from Willow, connected to the Internet, and began to search.

# # #

Angel walked through the forest, deep in thought. He realized immediately why vampires would choose a place like Forks: there was hardly ever any direct sunlight. With just an umbrella, he had been able to move about the day without drawing too much attention to himself. With that, he had been able to somewhat monitor Buffy on her first day of school. Nothing seemed out of place, making him wonder how unaware the sleepy town had been of their deadly residents.

He entered his cabin and took off his coat, wondering briefly about the young girl with the red truck. When he initially first saw her, her pale skin and distant demeanor immediately caught his attention, but he quickly realized that she was just another human. However, there was still something different about the girl and to make sure, Angel would begin to watch her a little more closely.

Angel felt the presence of the sun leave the sky as the night began to take over. He decided he would need to feed quickly before following Buffy while she patrolled. He disliked having to hunt wild animals in the forest, but didn't think that finding the local butcher's shop and explaining his situation would be necessary with plenty of large animals in the area.

Nothing interesting or alarming had happened yet, but Angel knew that just meant he and Buffy would have to dig deeper. While it would have been much easier to know what Buffy knew and help her search different angles, he knew he could never reveal himself to her unless the situation called for it. He would instead search the forest and the outskirts of town, reporting his findings to Giles.

Angel sighed as the evening took over entirely, consuming him and the cabin in darkness. This is where he belonged; away from the light. Away from Buffy.

# # #

Alright, I know that a lot didn't happen in this chapter, but I promise a lot more will in the next one. Thanks for reading! Comments are lovely.


	5. Chapter 5

**Lions and Lambs: Chapter 5**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Twilight. I own nothing. Except the Macbook which I am using to write this story, because I couldn't get out of my head.

# # #

Buffy couldn't help but be slightly disappointed with the lack of action tonight. She ended up wandering the cemetery and the surrounding woods for a few hours before finally giving up. With no fight, she felt too tense and alert. Sleep would not come easily.

Resigned, she sank onto her couch and immediately reached for her laptop. Her online search of anyone named Cullen only landed her with one solid lead. The regional newspaper had an online story about the local hospital. It was a story that dated back to last year, when they had hired a new young doctor named Carlisle Cullen.

Buffy couldn't help but be a bit skeptical. What were the chances that this doctor had anything to do with these mythical vampires? Then again, the connection might also have to do with a blood supply, either donated blood or weak patients…

She shuddered at the thought. Regardless, she would look into the doctor the next day. She picked up the phone and left Giles a message, detailing her latest discovery.

# # #

Angel wandered aimlessly through the forest, patient and alert for signs of anything out of place. He wasn't expecting the sudden vibration that came from his coat pocket. Startled, he scooped out the cell phone and fumbled with it for a minute before finally answering.

"Any news, Giles?" he said, not bothering with a hello.

"It appears that Buffy might have found out something worth looking into. There is a possibility that a local doctor is connected to the vampires. She'll be looking into it before school. In case you'd like to do your own digging, the name is Carlisle Cullen."

Angel was silent for a moment, briefly going over his memory to see if he could remember anyone by that name mentioned to him. Nothing came to mind.

"Thanks for the heads up, Giles. I'll see what I can find."

# # #

As it turns out, Buffy didn't need to bother with sleep. By the time that she felt even slightly tired, it was already morning. She quickly got ready for the day, determined to stop by the hospital before heading back to school.

Buffy drove along the highway, barely looking at directions she jotted down before leaving. She liked at least one thing about small town life; everything seemed to be directly off their one major road.

She pulled into the parking lot of the modest looking hospital, going over every possible scenario in her head in case she came across this suspicious doctor herself.

The front desk only had one nurse standing behind it, who seemed to be preoccupied with the chart in her hand. Buffy walked up and cleared her throat, already armed with a sweet smile. The nurse looked up, startled and smiled back wearily at her.

"Hello, can I help you with something?" the nurse asked.

"Yes, I was hoping to speak with Dr. Carlisle Cullen," Buffy responded.

The nurse frowned slightly at the name, but it wasn't a look of distaste. "What do you want with Dr. Cullen?"

Buffy was ready for this question. "I just moved here to watch over my sickly aunt and she mentioned him to me in passing. I was hoping to speak to him for a minute about her condition." She was secretly pleased with her elaborate lie about her imaginary aunt.

The nurse sighed. "I'm sorry, dear, but Dr. Cullen no longer works here. He and his family left about a month ago to Los Angeles."

Buffy blinked, surprised by this new information. Had this doctor really left? Or had the vampires he was possibly connected to make him disappear?

"Oh well, I'm sorry to hear that. I'll have to talk to my aunt about this before I bring her in for a check-up. Thank you, though," Buffy said before swiftly walking away from the front desk. The nurse nodded to her and went about her business.

Buffy walked back down the long hallway to the entryway before stopping dead in her tracks. She turned slowly and walked up to a large bulletin board. Whoever had been in charge of it had clearly not taken the time to update it. It was a board showing photos of all the doctors at the hospital and Dr. Carlisle Cullen's picture was still up.

Buffy studied it for a moment. He looked young—almost too young—with pale blonde hair and kind golden eyes. Golden eyes. Buffy stared incredulously at the photo. Dr. Cullen also had incredibly pale skin and perfect features. She felt the color drain from her face.

The overall unnatural look to him might not bother anyone else if they didn't study him too closely. Didn't know what kind of creatures come out at night. But Buffy did and she knew exactly what she was looking at.

Dr. Cullen wasn't associated with the vampires. He _was_ a vampire.

# # #

Angel followed Buffy to the hospital, mildly alarmed by the perturbed look on her face as she left and headed for the high school. Whatever she did or didn't find out, he sensed that Carlisle Cullen was definitely worth looking into. Once Buffy was at the school, Angel went off his own way to do a bit of research.

Regardless of who—or what—this doctor was, Angel knew that creatures that tried to blend in with humans would do human-like things, including owning a home. If the vampires were using Dr. Cullen to help cover themselves up, there was a likely chance that any property would be in his name.

Angel headed towards the local county records office and quickly examined the sewer system surrounding the area. It would be much simpler to sneak in than to actually deal with the humans inside. He found a narrow passage way underneath the building and into the basement. He listened carefully for those inside. It seemed that very few people were working there as it was, so it wouldn't be difficult to avoid them.

Angel moved silently through the hall, scanning the doors for clues as to where the documents he was looking for might be held. He found a room filled with filing cabinets and decided to start there. Locking the door behind him, he began his search.

After an hour or so, Angel found a land grant with the name 'Cullen' on it. The piece of land was located in the northern forest just outside of Forks. He quickly scanned the rest of the document and saw that a home had been built on the location. Tucking the folder into his coat, Angel slipped out of the office and back into the basement.

Upon leaving the sewer, Angel opened his umbrella and pulled out his cell phone.

"Giles, I think I've found something."

# # #

When at work at the outdoors sporting goods store, Bella tried really hard to pay attention to her surroundings. That meant not succumbing to her trance completely and thus, being more aware of her heartache. She knew that Mike did what he could to help and that if she didn't want to be sent to Florida with her mom, she would need to keep this job. It was the only way to convince her dad that she was still capable of functioning.

Thankfully, the shift had gone by quickly enough. Mike offered to close without her as he often did. Bella smiled weakly at him and thanked him as she left. She surveyed the weather as she headed to her truck. Nothing out of the ordinary; bleak and grey, the usual for Forks. Bella smiled sadly to herself, realizing that for the first time, the weather didn't bother her. It matched her constant mood. She had trouble dealing with sunny days now; it was almost too bright outside and yet still dull. Sunlight had lost its appeal, its sparkle. She may as well see in black and white now. She didn't think she would notice either way.

Bella was so lost in her thoughts she didn't notice the dark figure until she walked directly into it. Startled, she stumbled back and immediately almost lost her balance. The dark figure quickly reached and steadied her. Still not used to being touched, Bella jerked away and took a step back. She stared up at the man she had bumped into.

"I'm sorry, are you alright?" he asked politely.

Bella gasped. He was tall and dressed entirely black: black slacks, black shirt, and a long black coat. But his wardrobe isn't what had taken her aback. He had incredibly pale skin. Even though it made her heart twist, she automatically thought of Edward's identical complexion.

The man watched her patiently but also looked a little confused as to why she was staring at him. "Miss, are you alright?" he repeated.

Bella blinked as he spoke again; his voice was not melodious and angelic like Edward's, but still soft and soothing. As studied him for another minute, she realized that his warm brown eyes matched his hair._ Brown eyes, not golden_, she thought to herself and immediately felt embarrassed. She could feel the color creep up to her cheeks.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm sorry, you just… startled me," she stammered.

He smiled gently at her, showing a row of perfect and non-menacing teeth. "It's no problem," he replied.

Bella continued to mentally kick herself for assuming—almost hoping—this man was a vampire. So what if he was pale? She was too. The similarities with Edward and his family ended there. She couldn't believe she was so hopeful to find another vampire. But she knew that the false hope was driven by wanting to believe that her relationship with Edward, including what he truly was, had been real and not a product of her imagination.

"Bella, are you okay?" a voice called out.

Bella turned and saw Mike standing at the door of the store, looking concerned.

"I'm fine, Mike," she responded and waved as she turned back to the stranger, only to see that he had vanished. Puzzled, she glanced around the parking lot and saw no one. Wondering if what had just happened was proof she was going crazy, she waved to Mike again and headed for her truck.

# # #

Angel watched from the shadows of the forest surrounding the store as Bella left. He had hoped to get a closer look at the girl he now knew to be called Bella. But he hadn't expected to come into contact with her. She had been so unaware of her surroundings that she had walked directly into him. Angel shook his head, knowing that the despair and sadness that rolled off her in waves was the cause of that.

But the way she had studied Angel for those few moments… he had been somewhat alarmed, but tried not to show it. She looked at him as if she knew what he was. He was surprised she hadn't accused him of not being human on the spot. But the look in her eyes that held any accusation quickly faded as she finally spoke to him.

Angel didn't feel threatened by her. If anything, she seemed like a normal, somewhat clumsy human girl who was a danger to no one. But the look in her eyes when she saw him was too much to ignore. This girl knew something, most likely enough to put herself in the line of danger.

What made him curious was, if Bella did in fact know anything about the vampires in Forks, why was she still alive?

# # #

**This was a bit of a short chapter but coming up next: a confrontation at the Cullen home. Stay tuned! Reviews are lovely.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Lions and Lambs: Chapter 6**

_Out in the wild, deep in the woods there's a place._

_Where all the lonely people hold their hearts._

_And wait for a song or a voice that will finally know their name._

_Where is love when it's needed most?_

_Did it burn away the moment we all looked away?_

_Envy waits for those days when it rains._

_When it rains._

Envy by Daphne Loves Derby

# # #

It had only been less than a week and Buffy was already sick of high school. She actually had to pay attention in order to keep up the façade of being an actual student, but couldn't help but be distracted. Befriending Bella Swan was just as difficult as she had imagined. She greeted the quiet girl every morning in the class they shared together and Bella always said hello. Beyond that, Buffy had not been able to get more of a sentence out of her. She wasn't too surprised, though. Bella barely spoke to her friends, so why would she confide in a stranger?

But if there was one thing Buffy was certain of now, was that Bella was hiding something. The invisible burden on her shoulders was apparent. To her, at least. Buffy had her own burden to bear, although the weight had lifted slightly in the past couple of years. But with Angel gone, she almost felt like she was 15 again, wide-eyed and confused as a strange man handed her a wooden stake and told her about her destiny.

Restless, Buffy shifted in her seat, contemplating how to skip out on her last class without too many people noticing. Giles had finally found something for her to look into and she was itching to further her research. Nothing had happened on patrol since that first night and she could felt the tension mounting on her shoulders, anticipating what would happen next.

As it turned out, the super vamps had property outside of Forks, where a home had been built. It was the biggest break she had gotten so far in finding out more about them; the fact that Angel was the one who stumbled upon this information was unknown to her.

She didn't know what to expect when she reached the lair of this coven. There could be two vampires or twenty. They could be as strong as her or stronger. Either way, if need be, she would go down fighting. Her broad sword and various other weapons were able in the backseat of her Jeep.

Finally, the bell rang and Buffy all but leaped out of her seat and headed for the bathroom. Once the coast was clear, she swiftly made her way to the student parking lot and drove away, out into the forest surrounding Forks and quite possibly towards what could be her final battle.

She griped the steering wheel tightly, telling herself she would be okay with death. That is was part of the job description and she had learned to accept that after initially losing her life to the Master. If she were to die today, her only regret would be not being able to say goodbye to her loved ones. Not being able to tell Angel that she would always love him and only him and that he shouldn't blame himself for her death. She went down fighting the good fight and that he should keeping doing the same, for her.

# # #

For Bella, there was nothing especially different about today. It looked and felt like every other day. Bleak, desolate, and Edward-less. Nothing was out of place and everything was ordinary.

So she can't say what exactly compelled her, on today of all days, to drive past her house after school and instinctively towards Edward's home out in the woods. The only thing she could attribute this random action to was seeing the mysterious stranger early in the week and wanting to believe he was a vampire. Seeing Edward's home was one way she could prove to herself that he was real. That it had all been true. That vampires really existed and that the love of her life just happened to be one.

Bella could felt her heart twist and clench, almost as if it was trying to escape from her chest, as she drove there. Her eyes wildly scanned the side of the woods, searching for the almost invisible path that would lead the hidden mansion.

The long driveway was overgrown, to the point where Bella almost missed it. She swerved slightly as she turned onto it, her knuckles turning white as she clenched the wheel. She could feel her practically gasping for breath as her truck got closer and closer to her destination. Was this a bad idea? Quite possibly an extremely bad one that could cost her what was left of her heart? That didn't make her turn around. She had to see.

Bella's breath caught in her throat as the familiar magnificent house came into view. All she could do was stare as every single memory, beautiful and painful, came rushing to the surface. It was all she could do to keep the sob from bursting through her lips. As the tears began to blur her vision, she finally noticed something immensely out of place.

She stared in confusion at the rather familiar Jeep parked not too far away from her truck.

# # #

Buffy had reached her destination, ready to spring into action. She had strapped various weapons onto her body, from concealed knives in her sleeves to the sword on her back. She eyed the large house in front of her warily searching for signs of movement. She stood still, waiting for the familiar tingle of a nearby vampire to hit. It never came.

Alarmed by the possibility of not being able to sense these vampires, Buffy moved forward quickly, keeping to the side of the house before sneaking a peek through a front window. The sight inside surprised her.

There was nothing. Only vast, empty rooms. No furniture, no signs of anyone having lived there. At least, not for some time now. It appeared as if dust was gathering in some places. The house, from what she could see, appeared completely empty.

Buffy frowned. From what she knew about the habits of most vampires, they often surrounded themselves with items like furniture and art and various other things, either because they could or simply to keep up the illusion of humanity. If these vampires had worked diligently to keep up the appearance of being normal, like Giles said they did, there would have been enough inside to make anyone who ever came to their doorstep believe that it was a human home, with humans living in it.

She strained, waiting to hear or sense any movement inside. She was met with silence. Although it was a risky move on her part, Buffy decided to try and enter. She opened the door with relative ease and slowly moved inside.

The house was even more beautiful than she thought as she glanced around, alert and ready for anything. But as she quietly moved towards other rooms around the vast staircase, she found what she did in the front room: nothing.

Puzzled, Buffy went upstairs. Still nothing. There were no sign of vampires, regular or super. If they had been there, they were long gone. And from the looks of it, they had left in a bit of a hurry. All that remained were forgotten pieces of packing material, covered in a light blanket of dust.

Buffy suddenly realized that the nurse at the hospital had been right; the Cullens left a month or so ago and told everyone in town the lie of moving to Los Angeles.

She couldn't believe it. What she thought could have been a life or death situation turned out to be nothing. Buffy was alone in this enormous home, with nothing to show for her research and travels.

She let out a noise of frustration. Why were they gone? When did they leave? Did they know she was coming? Or was it all a trap to lure her in?

Her questions went unanswered. Determined to find some evidence of the existence of these illusive vampires, she continued to explore every room. She never heard Bella Swan's old pick-up approach.

# # #

To say that Angel was alarmed to find Buffy gone from school before he got there would be putting it lightly. Wondering if he should call Giles and check in, Bella appeared in the distance and distracted him temporarily. She had a look of quiet determination on her face. It was enough to make him curious. Hoping that Buffy was relatively safe, he decided to follow the human girl.

He was only slightly surprised when he realized where she was headed. He himself would have gone forth and checked the house but it was too risky. Buffy could have possibly found out about it and then would have asked why she hadn't been told about it. The whole point of this mission was to have her think that she was alone and not being shadowed by her over-protective ex-boyfriend.

If she planned to move forward and see it for herself, which he now did not doubt was exactly why she had left school early, he believed she would at least have a fighting chance. But when he saw that Bella was heading in the exact same direction, it only confirmed the feeling in his gut about her. If she intended to warn the vampires about Buffy's presence in Forks, he would stop her.

He left his car hidden in the woods so as to follow Bella the rest of the way on foot, beating her there by only a matter of seconds. It was enough to time to see that Buffy was still in the area. He also took note of Bella's reaction to Buffy's car and he growled, ready to move forward if needed.

What happened next was completely unexpected.

# # #

Buffy was incredibly disappointed. What she thought was the secret lair to the mysterious coven turned out to be a forgotten home. They left nothing behind. Possible scenarios began to go through her mind as she descended the stairs. If vampires in Seattle were coming to Forks to check the status of the coven, then their existence was becoming more common knowledge. It also meant that they could still be nearby, having only switched homes to throw others off their trail. Hoping that this was the case, she would call Giles and begin…

Her thought process stopped short, as did Buffy. She stood halfway down the staircase and stared at Bella Swan, who was standing in the doorway of the house, glaring at her.

A few moments of silence went by, neither one of them speaking. Buffy was surprised; Bella appeared to be confused and angry.

Buffy was the first to speak. "Bella, what are you doing here?"

Something in Buffy's words caused the distraught girl to snap.

"What am I doing here? What the hell are you doing here, Buffy? Who do you think you are?" Bella demanded, her voice getting louder by the second.

Buffy blinked, taken aback by her tone. She began to move down the stairs cautiously. "Look, this is kind of hard to explain, but…"

Bella cut her off before she could finish. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE? YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO BE HERE. NO RIGHT!" Hot, angry tears began to flow down Bella's pale face.

At this point, Buffy had already reached the bottom floor and continued to move towards her. "Bella, you need to calm down. There's a rational…"

"RATIONAL? RATIONAL?!" Bella screamed. "You know NOTHING about the Cullens. I don't care what everyone at school says, you know NOTHING ABOUT THEM! So WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?"

Buffy's eyes narrowed as she grabbed the hysterical girl gently but firmly by the shoulders. "I need you to listen to me, Bella."

"NO! I'm not listening! I knew there was something different about you!" Bella accused, trying to escape Buffy's iron grip. "You're not what you seem! WHO ARE YOU? WHY ARE YOU HERE?"

Buffy desperately tried to get a word in. "Bella! I am here to help, let me help you! If you're under their control, I can help you get away. I can protect you!"

Bella stared at the small blonde girl, who was strangely strong. "Under their control? Help me? What are you talking about?" she asked before becoming slightly fearful of Buffy. "What do you know? What do you want? I won't let you hurt them!"

Buffy frowned at Bella, believing she was either brainwashed or somewhat delusional. "Look, I know enough! I'm here to help, it's my job! No matter what you might think, the Cullens are also not what they seem. I have spent a good chunk of my teenage years hunting vam-"

Buffy stopped herself, cursing silently at how she almost said the word out loud. Bella, on the other hand, stared at her with wide eyes.

"Vampires?" Bella asked, her voice tiny and fragile.

Buffy blinked, automatically releasing the girl. "You know? You know what they are?" she asked, stunned.

Bella slowly nodded. "You know that vampires exist?"

"Of course I do, Bella," Buffy replied. "I'm the Slayer."

For someone who knew and obviously cared about vampires, the term 'Slayer' didn't seem to register with Bella. She stared blankly at Buffy for a few long moments before speaking again. "You're here to fight them? Why? Buffy, they're not evil! They're good people, I swear! "

Buffy sighed. "Bella, they're not people. They're not even alive. I'm here because the Cullens aren't like any other vampire I've dealt with before and I needed to see if the rumors were true.. I know that not all vampires are evil, but a lot of them are not exactly good guys either."

Bella shook her head, not completely grasping what the other girl was saying. "I know you might find that hard to believe but have you ever even spoke to a vampire before killing it? The Cullens are good and kind and caring and are capable of love and I… I'm in love with Edward and he loved me but--" She stopped, gasping for breath as a small sob rose in her throat. She had said it out loud, the one thing she had never verbally confirmed to anyone: she was in love with a vampire, who no longer loved her back.

Buffy frowned sadly at her. It all made sense now. Her first guess had been right: Bella was heartbroken. She wasn't brainwashed, just in love with an immortal boy. Now he was gone, and she was left to pick up the pieces. She knew that Bella would have all the information she would need, right at that exact moment, the fact that one other girl in existence happened to know exactly how she felt mattered a little bit more. She could already feel the tears forming in her eyes.

"But he left because he thought you deserved a normal life, away from danger and darkness," Buffy said, her voice cracking slightly. "And all you can do is wonder how you're supposed to go on without the love of your life because even though he's not even human, you can't imagine yourself with anyone else."

Bella gasped and watched the Slayer with wide eyes. "You… you're in love with a vampire too."

Buffy smiled weakly and nodded. "I think you and I have a lot to talk about."

# # #

I think I have a good idea what direction the next couple of chapters will be headed in, so stay tuned!


	7. Chapter 7

**Lions and Lambs: Chapter 7**

Bella was the first to speak as both girls sat down on the front steps of the empty, majestic house in the woods. "You go first," she said.

Buffy knew there was only one way to start her story, and that was from the beginning. She never thought she would relay the saga that was her relationship with Angel to anyone who hadn't witnessed for themselves. But here she was, spilling her heart out to Bella Swan, who watched with both admiration and unwavering sympathy apparent on her face.

Bella listened intently as Buffy reminisced about the day she was called to fulfill her destiny as the Slayer and how she moved to Sunnydale. How she had initially thought that Angel was at first, an annoying, cryptic yet incredibly handsome stranger who turned out to be the very thing she was meant to destroy. How Angel was the only kind of vampire she knew of that had a soul, and therefore, a conscience.

Buffy told her about every adventure and every sweet moment she shared with him early on, until the tragic day that was her 17th birthday, when she lost Angel to the soulless demon he had once been. How he tortured and killed people she knew and loved, and how, as she was finally prepared to kill him, he regained his soul, only to still have to be banished to Hell.

It was at this point in her story that tears had begun to stream down Buffy's face and her voice cracked several times. Bella, whose eyes were also wet, reached out and held the Slayer's hand, encouraging her to continue.

Buffy then told her about the past year and how Angel had returned miracously from hell. How they tried to just be friends, but knew that it was next to impossible. How they ultimately got back together, only to have Angel break up with her right before the biggest battle of her life took place, as well as prom. And even though he stayed to see through both previously mentioned events, how Buffy was so unbearably heartbroken by the fact that she had lost him not to unchangeable circumstances like before, but by his own choice.

When she finally finished, Bella smiled weakly at her. "Wow," she said, amazement and praise in her voice. "You are so strong to survive all of that. I… I don't know what I would have done. I would have crumbled."

Buffy laughed sadly. "That's the thing, though," she said softly. "Everyone expected me to be so strong when everything happened, so I did my best to make them think I was okay every time. None of them know how… how unbelievably sad I've been."

She fought back the tears and quickly wiped away the ones that had already spilled off her faced. "Alright," Buffy said. "Your turn."

Bella took in a big, shaky breath. Like Buffy, she too had also suffered quietly, never being able to tell anyone what had really happened with Edward Cullen.

She too started at the beginning, when she moved to Forks last year. How Edward and his siblings were obviously different from everyone else, but no one could have ever predicted what they truly were. How she initially thought Edward had some irrational hatred of her, but he had only acted how he did because the smell of her blood had been too tempting. How Edward had suddenly become protective of her, and even stopped a van from crushing her to death, which is what ultimately exposed his secret to her.

And how she had not been afraid after deducing that he was indeed a vampire. That she knew immediately that she loved him, and how, at the beginning, he had loved her too. And how she met his wonderful, loving family that worked hard to respect human life by only hunting animals. She told Buffy about what happened with James and his coven of nomads and how the Cullens had saved her life. How she and Edward, despite knowing the dangers that came with being together, loved each other too much to stay away.

She then told her how she also had a tragic incident happen on her birthday, only she had just turned 18. How she had accidentally cut herself, like the klutz that she was, and how it had been too much for Jasper to take. And how shortly after, Edward had coldly told her that she was in too much danger around them and how they would disappear, and that they would never bother her again, an unwanted promise that had been kept.

Bella's voice hiccupped with a sudden sob as she recalled the past few weeks without Edward and how lost she felt; how sometimes, she felt like she couldn't even breathe.

"Seems like nothing compared to what you've been through," Bella joked weakly.

Buffy shook her head and told hold of Bella's hand again. "Don't ever think of it like that," she said sternly. "A lot of what happened with Angel was also a direct result of me being a Slayer. Past all that, I'm just like you—coping with unbearable loss."

Bella smiled slightly and nodded at Buffy's understanding words. She never thought she would ever meet anyone who literally knew how she felt, but knowing that creatures like vampires existed had made her relatively open-minded.

The girls didn't realize how much time had passed until the sun was beginning to set as light began to fade from the sky. They both stood up simultaneously.

Buffy bit her lip and hesitated; she didn't want to ask Bella the following question, but knew that she had to. "Bella, I know you might not want to, but I really need your help," she began. "I understand that the Cullens aren't evil, but you mentioned other vampires like them that still hunt humans and I need to know how to fight them. Do you think you can tell me what you know about their kind?"

Bella stopped short, watching Buffy quietly for a few moments. She knew that Buffy needed this information; it was after all, her duty to protect humans from vampires like James and she had never come across one before. And she did truly believe that she wouldn't ever hurt the Cullens, despite the fact that they were technically mortal enemies. "Of course," Bella replied. "Anything to help."

As the sky continued to darken, Buffy motioned to their parked cars. "Let's take this discussion inside. You can come to my place."

# # #

As both girls drove away, Angel remained where he stood, trying to recover from the shock of everything he had just heard. What were that chances these two girls, whose hearts had been broken by immortal creatures, would ever meet?

In an odd way, it was comforting to Angel to know that someone understood how Buffy felt at the moment. Her friends could barely comprehend her pain—_their_ pain—and assumed that, as always, she would bounce back and soon be herself again.

It had been painful, though, to hear Buffy retell their story to Bella, from their initial meeting to their painful goodbye. It took everything in his power to run out from the shadows and sweep Buffy up into his arms, begging for forgiveness. Instead, he held himself steady against a tree, reminding himself that no good would come of exposing himself now.

Once the cars were long gone, driving down the highway, Angel quickly returned to his own vehicle and went back to his cabin, where he would wait patiently for incoming information. Bella would tell Buffy what she needed to know. Buffy would then in turn tell Giles, who would tell him. Once he was armed with more information, the circle of research could expand.

# # #

Buffy ushered Bella into her small, sparse apartment, which she had been able to keep somewhat tidy. "Make yourself comfortable," Buffy told her as she quickly began to remove the various weapons she had strapped onto herself earlier. Bella watched quietly with wide eyes as she removed her daggers, swords and stakes. Her curiosity about what Buffy was also peaked.

"So, you said a Slayer is a girl given supernatural powers to fight vampires and demons? And that there can only be one at a time? How does that work?" Bella asked.

"It's pretty simple," Buffy responded as she sat down next to Bella and reached for her computer. "When a Slayer dies, the next one is called. The last one before me died when I was 15, and that's when they came looking for me. When I go, someone will get called."

Bella paled slightly. "It sounds like Slayers don't live very long."

Buffy laughed, but there was no humor behind the sound of it. "Yeah, we're not exactly known for our long shelf life," she quipped. Bella couldn't help but frown a little at Buffy's attempt at humor. You have to see a lot to take death so lightly, and she wondered what it had taken for the small blonde girl to accept her fate so easily.

Buffy cleared her throat as a way to change the topic and opened a blank document on the laptop. She poised her fingers over the keys and glanced at Bella. "Okay, so let's get started. First off, the Cullens. Names and all that."

Bella looked immediately worried, her automatic need to protect the Cullens kicking in. "Why do you need to know anything about them? I told you, they're not a threat. They won't be coming back."

"I know that and I believe you," Buffy said gently. "But it you want me to treat them like people, I need think of them as people and not my enemy. Names, characteristics, things like that, help distinguish the two."

Bella sighed, the sound heavy. "I'm sorry, Buffy," she said. "I've just worked so hard to keep their secret. It feels like some kind of betrayal to tell you anything about them."

Buffy smiled kindly at her. "I get that. And you've done a great job of doing that, but really, anything you can tell me would be helpful."

"Carlisle is the head of the family and he created everyone else except for Alice and Jasper. Edward was the first one to turn, back in 1917, followed by Carlisle's wife, Esme, then Rosalie and Emmett. Alice and Jasper found each other, and then later joined the Cullens," Bella began. "Here in Forks, they passed themselves off as adopted. Edward, Emmett, and Alice all use the Cullen name, while Rosalie and Jasper use the name Hale."

Buffy nodded quietly as she typed out the names of the Cullens, noting to herself that seven vampires was rather large for any coven. She had found and fought against vampire nests in Sunnydale, but those vampires often stayed together out of convenience more than anything else.

"Edward, Alice and Jasper all have special abilities," Bella continued. "Edward can read minds, Alice can see the future and Jasper can control the emotions of everyone around him."

Buffy's eyes widened slightly at the mention of abilities, but said nothing and also typed this information out. "Thanks Bella," she said. "Now, do you think you can go into some specifics in general?"

Bella thought for a moment. "You mean, like what can effect them or hurt them?"

Buffy nodded. "Exactly. I'll give you an example by explaining the vampires I usually fight. I fight them with crosses, holy water and stakes. They tend to burst into flames when out in the sun. To turn into one of these vampires, they have to drink your blood and you have to drink theirs. When someone is turned, their soul is gone and it's replaced by a demon that keeps all the memories of that person. They usually look human enough, until their faces change when they vamp out."

While Bella registered everything that Buffy had just said, her eyes widened slightly in alarm and fear at the last sentence. "Their faces… change? How?" she asked slowly.

"They usually look human for the most part, but when they fight or get ready to feed, their faces morph, so it's kind of twisted and demonic looking. And their eyes are…"

"Bright yellow," Bella finished, her fear confirmed. Buffy stared at her for a moment. "How did you know that?"

"I… I had a dream a few nights ago," Bella said. "I dreamt I was following Edward in the woods, but then I fell and he disappeared. Then a vampire—one of your vampires—attacked me. I woke up just as he was about to kill me."

Buffy frowned. When it came to dreams, she knew that it was important to take such prophetic-sounding ones seriously. She wasn't about to tell Bella that, though. But it would be something she kept in mind. "Bella, don't worry. As long as I'm around, the usual vampires should stay at bay. Trust me."

Bella smiled weakly, feeling a little more reassured. "Well, your vampires sound a lot weaker than the ones I've met. Vampires like the Cullens are all kind of enhanced when they turn. They're all flawless and beautiful, with musical-sounding voices. They have super strength and speed. Their skin is like marble and pretty much impenetrable. Crosses, holy water and stakes don't affect them. They don't go out into the sun, but that's not because it hurts them. They… umm… kind of sparkle in the sunlight."

Buffy raised one eyebrow. "Sparkle?"

Bella laughed a little at her reaction. "It's weird I know but… when sunlight hits their skin, they sparkle. Like a diamond."

The Slayer sighed as she typed all of this out on her computer. "So, we've got super indestructible vampires that sparkle. Geez, why can't they just turn into a pile of dust like the normal ones?"

Bella laughed again, still surprised by the sound. It had been a while since she had laughed. "They can be destroyed, it's just not easy. They have to be torn apart and then burned."

Buffy nodded at this, relieved that there was some way to kill them. "I'll need a sword and some fire. Gotcha." She stopped, pondering the appearance of the new vampires. "Bella, are all their eyes golden? I saw a picture of Carlisle at the hospital and noticed the color of his eyes."

Bella shook her head. "Only the Cullens have gold eyes, because they hunt animals. When they haven't hunted for some time, their eyes become black. Most other vampires like them have red eyes."

Buffy typed out the last information, and surveyed the differences between the two types of vampires. It was strange to think that could both be called vampires and be so different. There was one last thing she needed to know. "And how our vampires like the Cullens created?"

"With their venom," Bella replied. "When they feed, the venom usually paralyzes the person but it's also what can create them. I don't know the exact science to it, since Edward always got upset when I asked."

With that, Buffy finished up typing up all the information and reached for her phone to call her Watcher. She motioned to Bella that it would only take a moment. "Hey Giles, I just got a big break in our research. By big, I mean I found out everything we need to know. I'm about to send you an e-mail with all the info."

Buffy paused and rolled her eyes at something Giles said. "E-mail is way easier and if you have trouble figuring it out, just ask Willow. Call me back when you go over it, okay?" She nodded to something he said, before saying goodbye and tossing the phone aside.

Bella suddenly glanced at a clock on the wall and realized the time. "Oh wow, I should get home. Charlie must be freaking out by now." She stood up and gathered her things.

Buffy nodded and also stood, walking Bella to her door. "Thanks for your help, Bella," she said as the girl began to leave. "And if you ever need to talk about any of this, I'm here."

The brunette smiled gratefully. "Thank you, Buffy. That means a lot. I'll see you in school." She waved as she left, unknowingly leaving Buffy with new, heavy thoughts.

# # #

A permanent frown was sketched onto Angel's face as he wordlessly listened to Giles explain everything Buffy had discovered from Bella.

It was as bad as he thought, if not worse. While they realized now that the Cullens were no threat, Angel could sense something powerful headed their way. And it was very likely that something was like the Cullens, only not so thoughtful of human life.

Angel could feel a growl growing in his chest, answering Giles with only a word or so before hanging up. He had a lot of work to do before this presence would make itself known.

This was only the calm before the storm.

# # #

That's it for now! Hopefully the next one won't take as long for me to write. Thanks for reading. Reviews are lovely.


	8. Chapter 8

**Lions and Lambs: Chapter 8**

# # #

It was almost as if every time she closed her eyes, the forest dreamscape appeared. Sometimes the nightmares were vivid ones that frightened her awake. Others were simply filled with so much sadness that when she finally woke up, there were still tears in her eyes.

This nightmare started out with her alone in the woods, surrounded by the lush greenery. She strained to hear for anyone, but was greeted with silence. She knew better, though. Just because her human ears couldn't catch any sounds didn't mean something—or someone—was out there.

She shut her eyes and took in a shaky breath, as if to try and calm her rattled nerves. When her eyes opened again, she gasped sharply at what had appeared before her.

Edward studied her quietly, an indescribable look in his eyes. Bella stared back at him, unable to speak or move. She blinked and Edward had placed his hand on her cheek. She shuddered at the feeling of his cool, pale hand against her flushed skin. And yet, she still couldn't find the ability to speak.

"Bella," he said softly. Her eyes almost immediately filled with tears at the sound of his face. It made her happy and so sad, all at once, to hear his voice again.

"You have to be careful," he said, almost harshly. Bella blinked, not understanding. Careful? She hadn't done anything stupid since he left. She had managed to not break any bones or spill any of her blood. What was he talking about?

Edward's tone softened again. "You have no idea what's coming, do you?"

Bella's voice remained lost to her, so she instead simply shook her head.

"Please stay safe," he pleaded urgently. His hand left her face and she instantly missed the feel of it. She reached out to him, questions ready at the tip of her tongue.

It was pointless though. He was already gone.

# # #

As Bella woke up, the memory of her dream, along what happened the day before with Buffy, were fresh in her mind. She wished she knew what Edward was trying to warn her about. She hated the feeling of helplessness that washed over her, not knowing if danger was headed her way. And she couldn't help but wonder if the danger was due to Edward being gone or Buffy being around.

She made up her mind on the drive to school that she would ask the Slayer for help, not only in discovering what could possibly be coming, but also in how she could somehow protect herself. Bella knew that she was emotionally weak not that Edward was gone, but she was tired of being physically weak as well. Fragile humans didn't last long in the world of demons and darkness.

She was aware of the fact that her knowledge about Edward's family could make her a target in the vampire world and wondered if there wasn't something she could try and do to keep her life from being cut short.

Bella was somewhat preoccupied by thoughts of all of this throughout the day, until she recognized Buffy in the crowd on the way to the cafeteria. She made a beeline for the blonde and managed to intercept her as she was leaving the lunch line.

Buffy was initially startled by someone suddenly grabbing her arm and had to restrain her natural defense reflexes. She relaxed and smiled when she saw it was Bella. "Oh hey Bella. Try to keep the sneaking up on me to a minimum, alright?"

Bella only nodded to Buffy's joking comment and followed her to their usual table, where Bella's friends watched with interest as the two interacted. "Buffy, I really need to talk you."

Sensing the urgency in her tone, Buffy nodded. "Sure thing," she replied. "How about today, after school?"

Bella smiled at the confirmation, knowing it was best to keep the details of their conversation to a minimum around others. "Sounds good."

# # #

A low growl began to build within Angel's chest as he paced restlessly outside of Forks High School, hidden among the trees. His grip on the umbrella he was now becoming accustomed to carrying tightened, the metal of the handle bending under his grasp.

He wasn't entirely sure if Buffy could sense what he was sensing at the moment, and there was no real way of asking her. Surely she would feel wary and slightly tense, but Angel's senses had him on high alert. What was initially a gut feeling of something coming towards their direction had turned into gut-sinking certainty overnight.

Angel had poured over the list of differences between himself and vampires like Edward Cullen the majority of the night. He initially couldn't help but envy them; if you were stuck as an immortal, it would be nice to not have deadly reactions to holy water and sunlight.

The feeling of admiration faded quickly though, as his mind began to process his weaknesses and their strengths and how it could all play out in a fight. He had quickly realized that his one major weakness at the moment was sunlight. These other vampires were capable of moving about in cloudy weather, which were common in the area. Angel could not, putting him at a great disadvantage. It was then that he had turned to Giles for a temporary solution in the form of a spell.

At that thought, Angel's cell phone vibrated in his coat pocket. He swiftly moved to answer it, mindful not to accidentally crush the phone despite his severe anxiety.

"Is it done?" he practically barked into the device.

Giles did not flinch at Angel's tone. He understood the vampire's desperate need to be able to help Buffy to the best of his abilities without being hindered by sunlight. Luckily, he called bearing good news. "Give it a few moments before testing it out," he replied.

Angel stopped the unnecessary act of breathing as the seconds ticked by painfully. Giles, on the other hand, was seemingly more patient. "Try it now," he said calmly.

Slowly, Angel outstretched his hand from underneath the safety of the umbrella into the shrouded sunlight. He let out as sight of relief as his hand did not burst into flame. He then slowly lowered the umbrella. Still, nothing happened. "It worked."

"Good," Giles said. "This spell should stay in place until revoked but do not attempt to test its limits on sunny days."

"Got it," Angel replied. "Thanks Giles."

He snapped the cell phone shut and discarded the umbrella, quietly admiring how the sunlight hidden behind the gloomy, cloudy day did him no harm. It was now one less thing to worry about. That didn't mean that his anxiety and frustration had lowered because of it. He had voiced his concerns to Giles the night before and told him to call if Buffy sensed anything. But so far, his love hadn't become entirely aware of whatever was coming, leaving Angel a restless wreck.

Standing outside on the cloudy day with no protection made Angel feel slightly exposed. He wondered if the Cullen coven felt the same way. One small sliver of direct sunlight in front of people and they would be exposed for being something other than human. He studied his own pale skin for a moment, wondering at how the other vampires looked in the light.

Eventually, the school day came to end. Angel watched from his hiding place as Buffy and Bella walked out into the parking lot together. They seemed to be in quiet discussion about something and Angel strained to hear their conversation. Buffy motioned to her car and Bella nodded, climbing into the passenger's seat. So they were going somewhere. Angel quickly walked over to his vehicle and waited to follow, the tension never leaving his body as his hands tightly gripped the wheel.

# # #

Buffy listened quietly as Bella described her nightmare to her from the previous night. Even though it was only a dream, she seemed to take Edward's warning very seriously. Buffy didn't blame her. There could possibly be some truth to it, so she took Bella's concern rather seriously. Buffy herself had an unsettling feeling in the pit of her stomach since sometime yesterday, which concerned her slightly. She couldn't say for sure, but something told her that a dangerous force was heading right for them.

"Buffy, did you hear me?" Bella repeated. Buffy blinked, startled out of her reverie by Bella's voice.

"I'm sorry. I was kind of lost in my thoughts. What were you saying?" she said.

Bella looked at her nervously, wondering how to bring up the subject directly. "Well, I was just wondering if maybe if you could… teach me. How to fight, I mean," she babbled.

Buffy couldn't help but look surprised at the request. She was about to ask why, but Bella beat her to the punch. "I'm tired of being a weak, clumsy girl," she blurted. "I mean, it wouldn't be so bad if my life was normal, but it's not. Even with Edward gone. I still know that vampires are real and that alone can put my life on the line, as much as I hate to think about it. And I don't want to die feeling helpless. If I'm attacked and killed, I want to at least know that I went down putting up a fight."

Bella took in a shaky breath as she finished. It was honest truth and it was in fact, her new greatest fear. She had somehow survived Edward leaving, which lead her to believe she might actually be stronger than she ever gave herself credit for.

Buffy smiled warmly at her, as if she knew exactly what Bella felt. She began to steer her Jeep towards the direction of the abandoned Cullen home, already thinking what she could possibly show Bella in case of some kind of attack. She thought briefly of Xander, and how as the only normal human in her group, he had still managed to pick up a few pointers in the last couple of years. She also knew that no one should ever feel helpless in the face of danger if it can be helped.

"I always carry some weapons with me, just in case," Buffy said as she turned onto the Cullens' long, abandoned driveway. "We'll start small, but try and build up quickly from there."

Bella let out a sight of relief and smiled slightly. "Thank you."

Buffy grinned and parked her Jeep a relative distance from the mansion in the woods. "No problem. Also, Bella—how do you feel about swords?"

# # #

The Slayer couldn't help but be a bit amused at how her new friend gingerly held the sword that she had handed to her. It might have seemed like a bit much to jump straight away into handling weapons, but from the sound of the new vampires, Buffy knew that a sword—or any form of sharp weaponry—was the only chance Bella would ever have against them.

Bella followed Buffy as they walked through the woods, mindful of where they were and how far they were away from the former Cullen home. She listened as Buffy explained the basics behind sword wielding, all the while trying to muster up the courage to actually hold the weapon correctly. _Get a grip_, she chastised herself. _You don't want to be weak, so now's the time to at least try and step up._

Buffy suddenly stopped walking and turned to her. Bella blinked at the abrupt stop, almost dropping her weapon. "So, before you try swinging at anything, why don't you get a good hold onto the handle?" she suggested.

Bella nodded and automatically tightened her hands around the hilt of the sword. She tested the weight of it in her hands, surprised at how manageable the weight was. Then again, she assumed that Buffy had given her the smallest, lightest sword she had in her arsenal of weapons.

"Good," Buffy said. "Now test the weight a little more by swinging the sword up and down, then side to side." Bella did as she was asked.

"Also good. Now, try taking a swing at me."

Bella blinked. "Wait, what? You want me to try and hit you with the sword?"

Buffy chuckled. "Don't worry, Bella. I have pretty excellent reflexes. And it's better to have a moving target, instead of a tree."

The sword-wielding brunette frowned and decided to simply take Buffy's word for it. With a deep breath and a tightened grip, Bella stepped forward and swiped at Buffy from the right. She gracefully dodged the attack, moving quickly behind Bella.

"Don't just stop there, keep swinging. Keep your grip and always watch your back," Buffy encouraged.

Bella continued to harmlessly swing the sword around for several minutes before letting the adrenaline kick in. She gained a slight amount of confidence, moving and swinging as Buffy continued to duck and dodge away. After a while, Bella started to sweat from the effort and put down the sword, holding up her hand as a signal for a break.

"That was really good, Bella. You just need to get comfortable with it and you might actually learn a thing or two about swordsmanship," Buffy joked.

Bella couldn't help but smile. Not just a few months ago, she was a horribly clumsy girl who was lucky that she hadn't tripped off a cliff. Now, she was learning how to use a sword with a vampire Slayer as her teacher. It seemed as if the moment Edward had stepped into her life, she was bound to the world of vampires and the supernatural, no matter what.

"That was actually kind of fun," she laughed. "If you give me a couple of weeks, I just might be able to hit something, as long as it's big and slow."

But Buffy didn't respond. That was when Bella noticed that the girl had gone completely stiff, tense with what was either anger or fear, she couldn't quite tell. Either way, Bella felt her stomach sink. "Buffy… what's wrong?"

Buffy mumbled something under her breath and quickly drew out her own sword, which was strapped across her back. "We've got company," she said through gritted teeth.

# # #

Angel had taken to the vast, tall trees as he followed the girls through the forest. As always, he tried to keep a relative distance in case Buffy ever decided that the tingling feeling in her stomach was no longer a figment of her imagination.

He was only several yards away when he felt the presence hit him. The sheer mental weight of it nearly knocked him out of the tree he was standing in. In all his years as a vampire, with all the demons and creatures he had seen, Angel had never felt a presence like this before. It was overwhelmingly powerful and immediately caused him to snarl, ready to defend himself if confronted by this entity.

Whether or not the presence was aware of him or not, it seemed to be heading in his direction, only not straight for him. A sudden dread filled him as he realized that it had chosen to go after the two very human girls who were standing alone in the woods.

With another enraged growl, Angel leaped across the treetops, hoping he would beat it to them.

# # #

Buffy was aware of Bella speaking to her, but she had all but stopped listening when she felt it. A presence, moving at unbelievable speed towards them. The minute she sensed it, it was as if someone had punched her in the gut. She almost keeled over from the overpowering sensation, her senses on high alert.

Bella must have noticed her stance and worriedly asked her what was wrong. Cursing her lack of weapons and knowing they would never be able to outrun this creature, Buffy swiftly drew her sword and positioned herself in front of Bella, simply telling her that they had company.

She could feel Bella tense up in fear behind her as they both stared at the open area in front of them, where Buffy knew the presence was coming from. She didn't want to frighten the girl but Buffy was a bit worried. If this creature was as dangerous as she now knew they were, she didn't how her strength and skills would measure up against it. She only hoped that if this was a battle she might end up losing, that she would be able to save the innocent girl behind her by taking the creature down with her.

Buffy braced herself, mentally and physically. The creature would be upon them in a matter of seconds. She blinked and the next moment, there he—_it_—was, moving stealthily towards them, a curious expression on its face. He was beautiful, as Buffy had expected, with dark hair and olive-toned skin. She couldn't help but cringe slightly at the sight of his dark, crimson eyes; so dark, they were almost black.

What happened next she could not have predicted. Bella moved out from behind her. "Laurent!" she cried, almost joyfully at the sight of the vampire. Fortunately, it seemed that she realized her mistake and immediately stiffened again. Despite the fact that Bella seemed to know this vampire, she had never mentioned him and Buffy assumed that she was free to consider him a new enemy.

The vampire—or Laurent—cocked its head and smiled oddly at her. "Bella?" he asked, bemused. His gaze flickered from the brunette to Buffy and back. "What a nice surprise to run into you."

Bella tried to move back behind Buffy, poorly attempting to keep a straight face. "I thought you had gone to Alaska."

Laurent continued to study both girls before flashing his teeth in what was a menacing grin. Bella flinched; Buffy did not. This further sparked the vampire's curiosity and he slowly but fluidly inched forward, never breaking his stride. "I was, but I'm here as a favor to an old friend." Another frightening smile. "I'm sure you remember Victoria don't you?"

A low whimper accidentally escaped Bella's throat and Buffy instantly knew that this vampire did not have any good intentions, carefully studying his movements and flexing the hand that carried her sword.

The small movement caught Laurent's attention; breaking whatever trance he was seemingly in. He paused briefly to glance at the swords they carried, as if it was the first time he was noticing them. The vampire smirked at the sight of the weapons, causing Buffy to glare. He thought they didn't have a chance, swords or not.

Laurent continued to move forward, ignoring Buffy's hard stare. "It's such a good thing you're not alone, Bella. I am rather thirsty and Victoria would have been quite cross if I hadn't left you for her to kill."

He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. "And while you smell as exquisite as ever, your friend is rather… irresistible. My mouth is practically watering." Laurent took another few calculated steps forward, almost as if judging to see if they would try and run; if they did, he would greatly enjoy the chase.

"I think that's close enough, unless you wanna start losing limbs," the Slayer snarled, taking a step forward and expertly twisting her sword in the air. Again, this caused him to pause and look at her in surprise.

"What's this?" Laurent asked, sounding amused. "Is your friend your new protector of sorts? I say new because it's a bit apparent that the Cullens are gone; I stopped by their home quickly. How strange that Edward would leave you here all alone, a defenseless little lamb."

Bella winced and felt her chest ache at his words, telling herself not to believe it. Edward never would have left her to die like this, if he had known. He may not love her anymore, but he was certainly noble enough and would have wanted her protected. Her eyes flashed forward as she realized that Buffy was moving away from her and towards Laurent.

"Are we done chatting yet? I've never had a bloodsucker talk so much before fighting," Buffy said dryly, casually taking another stride ever.

As she got closer, a look of concern flashed across Laurent's face, before quickly being replaced with anger. "Insolent little girl," he sneered. "Do you have any idea what you're dealing with? Who do you think you are?"

Buffy had to grin at that; she always did enjoy introducing herself to a new foe. "I'm Buffy, the vampire Slayer."

The vampire in front of her visibly tensed; it seemed that the term was not foreign to him. "Slayer," he hissed. "I thought you were merely a fairytale, made up to scare demonic half-breeds." He glanced up at the trees behind her. "Like your protector, hidden in the trees."

Buffy frowned, not knowing what he meant but certainly knowing better than to glance up and become distracted. Bella worriedly glanced up before fixing her gaze back on Laurent. It wasn't that she doubted Buffy's strength and skill; what worried her was the self-doubt that had been rolling off her friend in waves the minute the vampire had appeared before them.

"Well, sorry to disappoint, but I'm the real deal," Buffy quipped, closing the gap between her the vampire, now well within a striking distance. "Now how about you and I dance?"

With that, she lashed out quickly with her sword, beginning the fight.

With the knowledge that dismemberment was her best bet, Buffy swung will all her strength at one of Laurent's arms. The sound of metal scraping against his marble-like skin screeched in her ears, but she quickly ignored it.

She quickly leapt back after the blow so as to have a few seconds to survey the damage. Laurent let out a horrible roar as his left arm fell to the ground next to him. Buffy quietly congratulated herself, feeling a small amount of relief at knowing she could possibly fight this creature after all. But it was also in that moment that she realized that her sword had all but shattered after the impact. Cursing, Buffy moved forward again for another blow, this time with her fist.

Laurent was still slightly reeling from the pain and shock of losing his arm when Buffy punched him with all her strength, knocking him several feet back and into a tree. As the tree made a cracking sound upon impact, Buffy fought to keep the scream from her leaving her throat; her entire hand was broken. She knew that this would put her at yet another disadvantage; she also knew this was her only chance to get her hands on a weapon again.

"Bella, your sword!" she yelled. Bella, having been watching the entire scene unravel before with wide eyes, blinked at the sound of Buffy's voice directed at her. But before she even had a chance to react and toss her the weapon, Laurent was upon the Slayer.

Laurent realized very quickly that it had been foolish to underestimate the Slayer, having never encountered one before and not thinking much of the tiny girl in front of him. He would not let her regain the advantage. The second she had turned her attention to Bella, Laurent had already recovered and ran at the Slayer, slamming her into a tree.

Buffy gasped for air as Laurent used his remaining hand to lift and choke the Slayer. She clawed at his pale skin, to no avail. "It seems you have more strength than I thought," he mused out loud. "I foolishly lost my arm for that. However, I think your death will even the score." Black spots began to mar Buffy's vision as the vampire smiled sweetly at her, moving his mouth towards her throat.

# # #

Angel watched in concern and terror, frozen to his place among the treetops as he watched Laurent emerge from the woods, casually moving towards Buffy and Bella. The vampire was curious and confident; if he was even aware of the supernatural power that Buffy held, he wasn't giving it a second thought. It was obvious to Angel that Laurent did not believe the petite blonde posed any sort of threat.

He poised himself in a crouched position, ready to leap down at a moment's notice. He listened carefully to their conversation, noting by Bella's reaction that this Laurent had been a neutral vampire she had encountered, who was now no longer neutral.

Different as he and Laurent were, Angel recognized a love of bloodlust when he saw it. Laurent smelled very faintly of animal's blood, his dark crimson eyes proof that he never truly settled into that way of life. Angel almost snarled loudly as he saw the way the other immortal took notice of Buffy and the scent of her blood.

He saw that Bella was practically frozen in her place, the sword in her grip seemingly forgotten. Angel turned his attention back to Buffy as she began her usual routine when engaging her enemies; had he not been so worried about the battle that was seconds away from taking place, he would have chuckled at her dry remarks.

Angel stiffened and practically all but leaped out of the tree when he saw Laurent acknowledge his presence and comment on it to Buffy. However, knowing better than to fall to a potential trap, Buffy did not look up into the trees and instead moved forward again, striking out against the vampire with her sword.

The fight unfolded in a matter of seconds. The sword had done its job in taking Laurent's arm but cracked and shattered in the process, as did Buffy's fist after hitting the vampire.

Angel had only blinked once and the vampire had recovered, with Buffy in a death grip.

That was all it took. He jumped down from the tree.

# # #

_This can't be happening_, Bella thought as she watched in both horror and fascination as Buffy charged at Laurent. But she had only gotten in two good hits before she was left with a broken sword and equally broken hand. Bella had no time to react, much less toss the sword she held to Buffy before Laurent had the Slayer pinned against a tree, poised to take her life.

Bella wanted to scream. She could do nothing but watch her friend die at the hands of one of the creatures she was destined to kill. While Buffy had seemingly accepted that fate, Bella could not.

But before she could even more towards Laurent, her sword raised in an attempt to distract him, something entirely unexpected happened.

A dark figure suddenly landed in front of her; he was a tall, pale man dressed entirely black. At least, he looked like a man. His face was anything but human; it was twisted with demonic features and his eyes were a bright, angry yellow. Bella gasped as she recognized the face of the demon from her nightmare.

But the figure all but ignored her. "Stay back," he growled quickly before charging at Laurent, who was a mere second away from sinking his venom-covered teeth into Buffy's throat.

Whether or not Laurent had seen the attack coming, Bella couldn't say. But the two vampires fell into the ground with a heavy impact and she immediately rushed towards Buffy, who had slumped to the ground.

"Oh god, Buffy, are you okay? Talk to me!" Bella begged, holding her friend up and keeping her from collapsing onto the ground. Buffy remained unresponsive for a few moments before coughing harshly and gasping for breath. Relieved, Bella patted her soothingly on the back. The relief was brief as she realized that yet another potential enemy was in their midst and she glanced up fearfully in the direction of the vampires.

Laurent and the figure seemed to be equally matched, until the figure pinned Laurent against a tree, holding him up by his throat and remaining arm.

Bella shivered as she heard Laurent laugh. "What makes you think you can defeat me, half-breed?" he taunted the figure.

The figure snarled fiercely at him. "The fact that you're practically a newborn compared to the decades I spent torturing and killing both the living and undead," he replied coldly before ripping off Laurent's other arm and tossing it casually aside. Laurent let out another horrible screech. Bella flinched and shut her eyes away from the scene, turning to Buffy.

Buffy, however, seemed to be in a trance as she watched the new vampire tear apart the one that almost took her life. Her breaths were ragged and short as she stared at the scene unfolding before them. Concerned that she was going into shock and that they had yet another vampire to deal with, Bella shook Buffy and begged her to snap out of it.

But her words fell on deaf ears. Even as the figure finished dismembering Laurent, whose cries were now merely echoes in the forest, and set fire to his remains, causing a thick crimson cloud of smoke to form, she still had not looked away.

"Buffy please, we have to get out of here," Bella pleaded, her voice laced with fear. Still, the Slayer said nothing as the figure slowly turned to them. Uncertain of what else to do, Bella reached for her sword and stood up, grasping it tightly as the figure slowly approached.

Buffy stood up with her, but still said nothing. While she did appear to be lucid, there was an indescribable look her face. Bella tensed, anticipating the figure's attack_. I love you, Edward_, she thought. _I'm so sorry_.

But the attack never came. Instead the figure stopped a few feet in front of them and his demonic face melted away, replaced by a pale, handsome man, his warm brown eyes filled with sorrow and concern.

Bella blinked in shock as she recognized the man she had seen that day outside the store. She stared for a moment longer, not understanding what was happening. She turned to Buffy and was surprised to see that tears had begun to fall from the Slayer's eyes.

Everything and nothing was explained as Buffy finally spoke.

"Angel."

# # #

Man, this took me so long to write. I really had to sit down and figure out how I wanted it to play out. But I'm pretty happy with the end result. Thanks for reading! Reviews are lovely.


	9. Chapter 9

**Lions and Lambs: Chapter 9**

Author's note: The rumors of my demise have been greatly exaggerated! The real world has kind of finally kicked in and I found myself with little to no time to write. Throw in some severe lack of motivation, and you get a really delayed new chapter. But thanks so much to everyone for their comments, I really appreciate it. I hope to have one more chapter up before the new year, but that might be wishful thinking. Happy Holidays!

# # #

She couldn't move. Couldn't breathe, couldn't think. The scene unfolding before her had stunned her into silence. She was vaguely aware of Bella's voice in her ear, pleading to get up and move. She realized that her friend thought they were still in danger, but couldn't find the strength to tell her everything was going to be fine. Mostly because she didn't believe it herself; her mind told her there was no way this could be happening, but the familiar tingling in her stomach and ache in her chest confirmed what she was still doubting to be true.

She watched as he swiftly tore apart Laurent and set fire to the remains. Then he finally turned to look at her, game face still on, the bloodlust and rage still burning in his bright yellow eyes. The look on her face must have said it all, though. He quickly reverted to his human face, looking at her with a mixture of concern, guilt and sadness.

At some point, she stood up. The pain of her broken hand had all but faded away in her shock. Her breathing was harsh and raspy from Laurent's ironclad grip moments before. But she didn't feel any of it. Instead, she was bracing herself for the giant wave of grief and heartache she already knew was about to come crashing around her.

"Angel."

It was all she could seem to say. He closed his eyes briefly, as if the sound of her face shook him. What did he know? Just the sight of him was tearing at her heart.

"Buffy."

His voice was strained, as if he was in pain.

Bella looked back and forth between the two of them, trying to understand. She took in the sight of the new vampire, wondering if he had been here as long as Buffy had, considering she saw him not too long after Buffy had moved to town. If that was the case, Bella easily confirmed from the look on the Slayer's face that she had no idea he had been here the entire time.

Angel was slowly closing the gap between him and Buffy. He had to restrain himself from brushing the tears from her face. "You're hurt," he said softly, almost reaching for her broken hand.

Buffy blinked at the sound of his voice, wincing at his choice of words. She saw the slight movement as he reached for her and flinched away. She tried to will herself to stop crying, but the tears could not be stopped. "I'm fine," she rasped. "What are you doing here?"

He glanced at Bella, who stood to the side and watched silently. "That's not important right now. We need to get your hand looked at."

"It's fine," she snapped, but instantly regretting her tone. He had just saved her life and was concerned about her injury, but all she could was lash out at him. "It's already started to heal," she finished softly.

She glanced at Bella, who no longer seemed to be afraid but still had a death grip on the sword in her hands. "Bella? Are you alright?" she asked.

Bella slowly nodded. "I… I think so," she replied but the fact that her voice was rather shaky didn't make her sound believable.

Buffy nodded in relief. "Angel, this is Bella. Bella, Angel." The vampire gave a soft smile, which Bella meekly tried to return.

"We've already met. Sort of, anyway," Bella said, realizing immediately what she had said and wishing she hadn't. It was too late, though. Buffy stiffened at her words and turned her gaze onto Angel; it didn't take much to figure out what Bella had meant.

"Angel," Buffy began slowly. "How long have you been here?"

He watched her warily, knowing she would most likely not take the truth well. He couldn't blame her, though. He led her to believe that he was long gone while he had actually been shadowing her since the day after graduation.

"Buffy, I can explain," he said, looking worried. "After graduation, I heard the rumors about the Cullen family so Giles and I…"

"You and Giles?" she interrupted sharply. She couldn't believe her Watcher was in on this.

"We did the research together," Angel continued. "Then I followed you up to Forks. I just wanted to help, but I… I didn't think it was necessary for you to know I was here."

Buffy stared at him, unable to believe what he was admitting. "You never left," she said, her voice cracking. Angel only nodded, at a loss for words.

"You never left," she repeated, fresh tears streaming down her face. "This whole time..."

"Buffy, I'm sorry—" he began, trying to move towards her again. Like a wounded animal, she quickly backed away, her eyes filled with grief and fury.

"You're SORRY? You made me think you were LEAVING ME, but you have BEEN FOLLOWING ME THIS WHOLE TIME!" she screamed, her throat straining from the effort. "Do you know what that was like, Angel? I FELT YOU EVERYWHERE!"

Her body shook with rage and sobs. The emotional and physical pain consumed her and she felt herself become dizzy. Bella moved forward and steadied her, worriedly asking if she was alright.

For the 100th time since he had walked away, Angel felt his heart crack into tiny, unrecognizable fragments. All he had wanted to do was protect her, even if meant staying in the darkness while she lived out in the light. He knew that she was perfectly capable of taking care of herself; a part of him knew he was almost grateful for this, as it gave him an excuse to stay and watch her back. He wouldn't have been able to live with himself if she had fallen in battle, and he had not been there to catch her.

"I thought I was doing the right thing," he murmured sadly. "What good what it have done to know I never left? It doesn't change anything."

Buffy looked away, attempting to strength her resolve. She was unraveling at the seams and she refused to fall apart in front of him. Instead, she desperately clung to Bella in order to stay upright as she thought of all the things she could say, but never would.

"Just go," she whispered. "Please. Just leave."

Not bothering to look in his direction, Buffy struggled to move back in the direction from which they came, still using Bella as support. "We need to get out of here," she whispered, almost pleadingly.

All Bella could do was nod and be practically dragged away from the scene. Even she couldn't find anything to say that would be remotely comforting, Bella was all too familiar with the sadness that had overwhelmed her weary friend. As they walked away, she glanced back to see Angel still standing where they had left him, watching them with an indescribable look on his face.

Buffy said nothing as they continued out of the woods, not even when the familiar tingle his presence usually caused faded away, leaving a horribly empty feeling in the pit of her stomach.

# # #

Bella continued to glance nervously at Buffy out of the corner of her eye she steered the Jeep towards Buffy's apartment.

She knew that Buffy was obviously making no attempt to deal with the all the newfound information she had about Angel, as she was staring out the window with a blank expression on her face.

As Bella pulled up to Buffy's building and came to a stop, she finally turned to her and took a deep breath, ready to try and comfort her friend. But Buffy beat her to it.

"I didn't know what else to do," she rasped, looking at Bella. "I could have screamed at him more, or attacked him or even hugged him. I don't know. I was so relieved and angry to see him, all at once. The only thing I thought I could do… was walk away."

Bella felt her own tears beginning to form at the sadness in Buffy's voice. "I understand," she said, and left at that.

She helped Buffy into her apartment and rummaged through her bathroom, looking for painkillers as the Slayer wearily laid down on her couch. Bella emerged back into the room, some pills, a glass of water and a clean change of clothing in hand. She placed them down next to Buffy, who nodded her thanks.

Bella hesitated, knowing she had to be home soon if she didn't want Charlie sending out a huge search party looking for her again. She winced at the memory of her father, worried out of his mind as she had sat in the forest for hours in a comatose state after Edward had left. However, she wasn't sure if she wanted to leave Buffy alone.

"Are you going to be alright?" she asked softly.

Buffy glanced up from her place on the couch and tried to force a smile. "I'll be fine," she whispered. She wasn't sure if she really believed that, but all she wanted was for Bella to believe it.

Bella paused for a moment before smiling back weakly. "I'll see you tomorrow," she said lamely before making her exit.

Buffy waited patiently for several moments before getting up. She tested her arm carefully, checking for any breaks or fractures that had yet to heal. While it was still rather sore, along with throat, she had already regained the use of her hand.

She quietly went through the motions, her brain still seemingly incapable of registering anything. She showered quickly and changed and took a few painkillers to be on the safe side, all the while still seeing the look on Angel's face when she walked away in her mind's eye.

Buffy turned off all the lights and found herself back on her couch, staring blankly at the ceiling. The pain and tears had come and gone. All that was left was an empty, echoing feeling in her chest. She was sure that once she fully comprehended everything that had occurred, the waves of grief would come back up and pull her in. For now, she welcomed the oblivion of sleep.

She had closed her eyes for what had felt like a few moments, only to blink them open and be greeted with darkness. She blinked a few more times, letting her sight adjust to the lack of light. Her internal clock told her it was around 3 a.m., if not earlier. She let herself lie still for a few more minutes before speaking.

"You're still here," she commented quietly, as if making an observation.

Something stirred in the shadows to her left, moving closer to the couch. In that moment, she was grateful that the lights were off. She didn't know if she could handle seeing his face again quite yet.

"I'm sorry," Angel said softly.

Buffy let out a shaky sigh. "Me too," she replied.

A few moments of silence passed before she spoke again.

"It's going to get pretty bad, isn't it?" she said.

"Yeah," he admitted. "I could never leave you to fight this battle alone."

Another wave of silence.

"Buffy, when this is over, I…" Angel began.

"I know," she said softly, cutting him off.

He didn't have apologize. Didn't have to explain.

Like a knight in shining armor, he had shown up for prom and had fought with her through the Ascension. And now, he would help her through another battle, fight by her side until the world was just a little bit safer. But in the end, he would never really stay.

Whether or not she understood why, she forced herself to accept it.

She could at least accept his presence and maybe even enjoy it somehow. For all she knew, it might be the last time she ever saw him. The thought of that alone was more than she could stand.

Wordlessly, Buffy lifted her healed hand and reached out in his direction. Without hesitation, Angel took it, intertwining their fingers. She felt another sob swell up to her throat, his touch both torturing and soothing.

They stayed that way, holding hands quietly in the dark, until Buffy succumbed to sleep.

# # #

Edward Cullen had lost all sense of time.

When Bella entered his life, his never-ending existence suddenly went from passing decades without blinking to counting every second, every minute when he was with her. Every moment, no matter how insignificant, had suddenly become precious to him.

Before her, he had merely been existing. Now that she was gone, he wasn't even sure he was doing that much.

Years could have passed and he would have barely noticed. He went days just sitting out in the snow, staring into space. The only time he was remotely active was when he hunted after the bloodlust had become too much. Even then, he had to remind himself to feed. Whenever a member of his family was concerned that he had gone too long without any blood, they would either force feed him or simply bring him a fresh cup of it.

They all seem to know when too much time had passed since he had last fed. Everyone still seemed to understand time. He did not.

Edward spent his days (if you could even call them that) focusing on expanding his capability of reading minds. He was too far away from Forks to hear the thoughts of anyone around Bella and so began to spend all his time straining his energy in the direction of the sleepy town, hoping to hear a snippet from someone familiar.

Edward was concentrating so heavily, he had barely realized that Alice was quickly approaching him. He ignored her, as per usual, in an attempt to block out her mind.

"Edward," she said urgently, stopping directly in front of him.

His only response was a low growl as he turned away from her. Alice was the only member of his family, next to Carlisle, who persistently kept trying to communicate with him. She seemed especially insistent today and he was in no mood for it.

"Edward, I need you to listen to me," she said. "It's important. If you read my mind, you'll understand." Alice had learned quickly that her brother had somehow taught himself to blatantly ignore her thoughts, for fear of seeing something that he would dread.

This time, she was greeted with silence. Frustrated by his childlike antics, Alice reached out and lifted him by the shoulder, forcing him to stand.

Edward snarled in outrage, a sound that Alice was quick to return. He broke her grip on his arm and disappeared from sight, running off into the direction of the woods. He hoped she would get the hint to leave him alone. But Alice wasn't having it.

Never one to be underestimated, Alice pursued Edward and launched herself at him, throwing him against an old, large tree. The tree groaned from the impact, splintering and cracking in various places.

Alice held her firmly by the shoulders, forcing him to focus his glazed black eyes on her. "Read my mind," she growled through gritted teeth.

Edward quietly relented and Alice's thoughts quickly flooded into his head. It didn't take him long to see and realize what was so urgent.

He immediately caught sight of Alice's vision. It was of Bella.

His beautiful, clumsy Bella, with a terrified look on her face. And a pair of menacing yellow eyes watched her, a bloodlust apparent in their gaze.

# # #

That's it for now! Thanks for reading!


	10. Chapter 10

**Lions and Lambs: Chapter 10**

**Author's Note:** Well, look at that! I'm not dead! And I hadn't meant to abandon this fic so I apologize to everyone who was hoping I would update. I have a little bit of free time on my hands so I hope to continue on with the story. A big thanks to Rpatz_Wifey, for being my most recent reviewer and for helping remember that I still wanted to finish this. And of course, to everyone else who's left reviews: thanks so much!

# # #

Alice tried not to look at her brother. She had managed to shake him from his reverie, but telling Edward what she had seen was bound to come with a price. He had gone from being a stone-like statue to one increasingly agitated, angry vampire in a matter of moments. Before she knew it, they were speeding down the road towards Forks, with Alice at the wheel.

Alice chose to stay quiet, concentrating on the road. She too, was extremely concerned about Bella's well being. She loved the girl as she would her own sister and also wanted to make sure she was safe. But there was something she hadn't told Edward yet, and the information nagged her. Alice knew that he wouldn't take it well and he was bordering on enraged as it was.

Quickly, she glanced at Edward. He was griping his seat tightly, on the verge of tearing it away. His black eyes were wild, with flashes of rage and grief hidden in their depths.

"Edward, it might be best to stop at some point so you can feed," Alice suggested quietly. Edward turned his glare from the window onto her.

"I'm fine," he snapped.

Alice sighed. "When was the last time you fed? Weeks ago?" she asked.

The question went unanswered as her cell phone rang. Edward growled slightly at the sound of it. "Carlisle," she informed him as she flipped it open.

"Is everything alright?" said the smooth, concerned voice of their adoptive father.

"I wouldn't exactly say that, but you have nothing to worry about," she replied. Alice had told Carlisle what she had seen before going out to speak to Edward. The fact that one of them neither returned to the house had led Carlisle to believe that they were already gone.

"Will you let us when you arrive?" he asked.

"Of course. Once we know something, I'll give you a call," Alice replied. They said their goodbyes and hung up.

She returned her attention to Edward. "I have to tell you something, but I need you to stay calm when I do," she began. Alice immediately thought of stopping the car in order to do this, something that Edward managed to read before she could change her mind.

"Alice, don't you DARE stop this car," Edward snarled at her.

At that, Alice immediately slammed on the breaks. The tires squealed to a halt in the snow, causing them to jerk violently in their seats.

"That is ENOUGH, Edward," she said firmly. "You're not going to like what I'm about to say but that doesn't change anything. I'm going with you to find out what's happening to Bella. I'm worried too, you know."

Edward stayed silent, but gripped the dashboard painfully, his fingers embedded in the plastic. Alice took that as a hesitant sign to continue.

"There's something about my vision that I didn't mention before," she said. "I've always been able to see Bella very clearly but… this vision was fragmented. Something—or someone— very powerful muddled it, making it unreadable. I know there was more to what I saw, but I don't know what."

She finished, waiting for his reaction. Edward closed his eyes, sorrow etched across his features. "Do you… do you think she's still alive?" he rasped.

"I hope so," she said softly. He looked up at her and nodded.

Alice brought the engine back to life with a roar, and they sped off into the night.

# # #

Buffy woke with a start, sitting up slowly. Her head still felt a little fuzzy and her hand, although fully healed, ached slightly. She realized that at some point in the night, Angel had carried her from the couch to her bed.

_Angel_, she thought as the memories of yesterday quickly came rushing back. She couldn't him sense him nearby. Had he left once she was asleep?

Buffy walked into her living room. There was no sign of him anywhere. Wondering where he could have gone and slightly hurt that he had left, she went to wash her face and put on a fresh pair of clothing. A few minutes later, she heard a knock at her door.

As made her way towards it, she felt that oh so familiar feeling in her stomach return. With that, she wasn't surprised to see Angel standing on the other end, looking nervous with a bag in his hand. She was however, shocked to see him standing outside in the middle of the day.

"Good morning," he said. "I um… I brought you some breakfast. You don't really have a lot of food in your apartment and I know you like doughnuts so…" He trailed off and held up in the bag in his hands. It was then he noticed that Buffy was staring at him in disbelief.

Angel frowned slightly. "Buffy, are you alright?"

Buffy blinked several times at him. "You're… you're here. And it's day time so the sun is out. And you're not a pile of ashes," she said in amazement. Before she could stop herself, she reached up to touch his face.

Angel almost gasped audibly at her touch, shocked by the warm wave that rushed over him. He had to stop himself from closing his eyes and leaning into her hand so that he could savor the feel of it.

Buffy knew she was holding her hand against his cheek for longer than consider normal, but she could almost feel her skin tingling as it made contact with his cool skin.

They stared into each other's eyes for what felt like hours, watching as various emotions flickered in other's gaze. Slowly, Buffy pulled away her hand and cleared her throat.

"So, umm… mind explaining the whole not bursting into flames?" she asked as she turned away from him, allowing him into the apartment.

Angel stepped in quickly, avoiding her gaze. "It was a spell that Giles did," he began. "I was worried that something might happen during the day and I wouldn't be able to help."

She nodded in understanding, still a little stunned by having seen him in the sun. Buffy turned to him and held out her hand. "So what's this you said about doughnuts?"

He offered her a small smile and handed her the pastries. "Jelly-filled, right?"

Buffy couldn't help but grin a little at him. "You remembered," she said as she sat down to eat.

Angel sat across from her, reaching for her laptop and cell phone. "You eat; I'll check and see if Giles has anything new to tell us," he said before she could protest.

He flipped her black cell phone open to be greeted with a blinking envelope. Buffy watched as he listened to the voicemail and slowly stopped chewing as a frown took over his face.

"Angel… what is it?" she asked but somehow, she already knew the answer.

He looked up at her. "We've got company coming."

# # #

Bella couldn't help but worry that Buffy wasn't in school today but after everything that had happened, she couldn't blame the Slayer for taking the day off. A broken hand was one thing to tend to, but a broken heart was quite another.

But to her great surprise, she found Buffy and Angel waiting for her by her truck after school. They stood rather close together and looked somewhat comfortable together, causing Bella to wonder what had happened since the fight in the forest.

"Hey guys," she greeted them with a small smile. "Is everything okay?"

Buffy forced a smile for her friend. "Yeah, Angel and I… have reached an understanding," she said slowly. It almost hurt to say it, no matter how she put it. They were still apart and he would still leave. That's just how their story ended. Angel looked away, unable to make eye contact with either one of them. Bella noticed how sad the vampire looked, but said nothing.

"So, any news?" Bella asked. It wasn't so much that she wanted to if any more danger was heading her way but she had a feeling that it wasn't going to end with Laurent. And by the look on their faces, it looked like it might just be the beginning.

Angel tried to offer her an encouraging smile. "Why don't we take this conversation back to Buffy's?" he suggested. The girls nodded. Buffy handed him the keys to her Jeep. "I'll ride with Bella," she said. He nodded and walked off to her car.

Bella tried to choke back the sudden sensation of worry and panic as she and Buffy got into her truck silently. So much had happened in a matter of days that she couldn't help but wonder what could possibly be worse than the confrontation with Laurent in the forest.

As her truck roared to life, Bella turned to Buffy and blurted out, "There is no way this is good news, is it?"

Buffy shook her head, a grim look on her face. "In my line of work, it usually never is."

# # #

Angel and Buffy watched Bella quietly as the girl sat on Buffy's couch, a look of quiet shock on her face. "So... a lot of new vampires are being created," she said slowly, repeating the information out loud. "Vampires like Angel… and vampires like Edward and his family."

Angel nodded firmly. "The amount of attacks and deaths in the greater Seattle area show that they're growing at a fast rate," he said. "And it looks like they're making their way here."

"The only thing is, we still haven't figured out who's behind this," Buffy continued. "Or why they're doing it, since it usually takes a motive to do something this big."

She averted her gaze before softly adding, "Who knows, maybe they're just coming for me."

Angel started at the comment; there it was again, the attitude of resignation when it came to the idea of death. He locked eyes with Buffy. "You don't know that," he insisted.

Buffy looked away, worried that her eyes would betray her fear. "But it makes sense doesn't it? I dust one vamp and suddenly… everyone's got a bone to pick with the Slayer."

Bella's heart quickly sank into her stomach as she watched the exchange between the two former lovers. It was obvious to her that Buffy was trying to make peace with the possibility of dying while in Forks. It was also obvious that Angel planned to do everything in his power to stop that from happening. As she wondered who would do something like this, she found herself wishing Edward was there with her.

Visible tears began to appear in Bella's eyes before she even realized it. Concerned, Buffy moved to sit next to her friend. "Bella, we're not going to let anything bad happen to you or anyone else in Forks. We'll find a way to fight this."

Bella nodded and smiled weakly. "I know, but… what do we do now?"

Buffy glanced at Angel quickly before answering. "For now, we keep tabs on what's happening. And we patrol, try and keep the vamps under control until we find the source."

# # #

The Slayer and her companions moved slowly through the dark forest surrounding Forks and towards the local cemetery. Bella walked slightly ahead of Buffy and Angel, where they could keep a better an eye on her. She gripped the wooden stake they had handed her tightly and kept glancing down at her pocket, where vials of holy water were safely hidden.

"Do you think it was such a good idea to have her come along?" Angel asked softly. Buffy glanced up at him and nodded. "If any of the super vamps find out about her connection to the Cullens, they might see her as a threat. We can keep her safe if she's with us, even on patrol."

Bella, fortunately unaware of the conversation that was taking place behind her, shuddered as the rows of tombstones came into her line of view. There was something creepy and foreboding about being in a graveyard at night; it didn't help that they were armed to fight vampires in said graveyard.

Unnerved by the silence surrounding her, Bella cleared her throat and turned to face Buffy and Angel. "So… what now?" she asked.

Buffy smiled, holding back a chuckle. Bella seemed so tense and uneasy walking around the cemetery and who could really blame her. To Buffy, the tombstones were all too familiar sights. "We keep an eye out, scan the area," Buffy replied. "I can kinda sense when vamps are nearby so…"

She stopped and frowned deeply. "Speak of the devil," she muttered. Bella franctically looked around before finally spotting a shadow slowly moving towards them. To her dismay, she managed to see not one but two pair of glowing yellow eyes. That detail also caught Buffy's attention. "Well, make that devils," she quipped, drawing out her stake.

Angel gently grabbed Bella by the arm. "Try and stay behind me, Bella," he instructed. The teenager only nodded quietly, her heart pounding in her ears. They both seemed so calm and collected in the face of their enemies. Memories of their recent fight with Laurent flooded her mind's eye and she desperately pushed away the images.

The vampires seemed to be in no rush to start a confrontation and stopped 10 feet away from where they stood. Angel quietly moved to stand next to her when one of the vampires, a young man in his late 20s, suddenly spoke.

"Well, well… if it isn't Angelus," he chuckled. "Last I heard, you were hanging out in Sunnydale with the Slayer. What brings you to Washington state?"

Buffy frowned but stayed quiet. She didn't like that this vampire seemed to know Angel; when his past made an appearance, it was usually to haunt him in the worst way possible. Angel however, didn't seem fazed.

"Probably the same reason you're out here, Thomas," he replied. Angel sounded calm enough, but the quiet threat was still in his voice.

Thomas sneered at the vampire. "Gotta say, that soul makes you a lot less scarier than you used to be," he mocked. He turned his gaze on Buffy and grinned, showing her his teeth. "And this must be the Slayer herself. Not at all what I was expecting."

Buffy rolled her eyes at that. "Yeah, yeah, I get that a lot," she sighed. "I could say looks can be deceiving, but I'd much rather show you." She smirked and blatantly flicked her wrist, tossing her stake and catching it with ease.

Thomas snarled and almost moved as if to lunge at her, but his companion, a young girl with long, dark hair growled and quickly held him back. "This isn't a suicide mission, you moron," she snapped at him. She turned her attention back to the Slayer. "We're just here for the girl. Hand her over and we'll go."

Bella froze at the vampire's words and gripped her stake to her chest as fear began to overtake her. _What would they want with me?_, she wondered to herself. As if to reassure her of her safety, Angel moved to stand in front of her, blocking her from their sight. "That's not gonna happen," he said.

Buffy glanced at her friend and gave her a reassuring nod before adding, "Besides, I hate missing out on the part where you two explode into big piles of dust."

Breaking the female vampire's grasp, Thomas ran at Buffy, just as she hoped he would. She was prepared and stunned the vampire with a roundhouse kick to the jaw, effectively knocking him back. With that, she jumped into the fray.

The female vampire snarled, turning her sights on Angel. Bella watched with wide eyes as his face changed from that of a friendly, handsome man to that of a dangerous demon. He charged at the vampire at incredible speed, easily tackling her to the ground.

Bella glanced over at Buffy, who had already wrestled Thomas to the ground and prepared for the final blow. "Sorry Tom, looks like you lose this round," she said, readying her stake. Although immobilized, the vampire snarled at Buffy. "You have no idea what you're getting into, Slayer. She's coming and she won't stop she gets what she want."

Buffy frowned at his words but didn't hesitate in striking him in the chest with her stake. She stood up quickly and turned just in time to watch Angel stake Thomas's friend as well. "Bella, are you okay?" she asked, turning her attention to her friend, who seemed to be shaking.

Bella, wide-eyed and breathless, shook her head. She had heard the vampire's parting words to Buffy and almost immediately knew who he was talking about.

"V-victoria," she stammered. "That vampire, Thomas… he was talking about Victoria."

Angel frowned, remembering that the vampire Laurent had also said that name in passing before his battle with Buffy. "Who's Victoria? Why would she be after you?"

Bella looked at him, and also jumped at the sight of his demonic face still in place. "She… I… E-edward killed her mate, James, to save me. And now she wants me dead. That's why they were here tonight. That's why these new vampires are being created. It's my fault, it's all my fault…" Her voice cracked at that, a sob caught in her throat.

Buffy frowned and moved to her side. "Bella, we'll find this Victoria and we'll stop her and anyone she sends our way, I promise."

Angel nodded in agreement. "You can count on us to keep you sa—"

He wasn't able to finish his sentence before being tackled into a tree several feet away by an unseen force. Bella watched in horror as Buffy shouted out. "ANGEL!"

The mere sight of the cause behind the sudden attack sent Bella into a deep shock. She felt her entire body freeze, her sorrow rising up and gripping her painfully. But that didn't stop her from screaming, "EDWARD, STOP!"

# # #

Yes, I know. I come back and leave you guys with a cliffhanger. I'm lame. But it'll be worth it, I promise! Read and review, as always. Thanks everyone!


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